


A Camp Half-Blood Vacation

by NEIWIS



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:01:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 51,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22307608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEIWIS/pseuds/NEIWIS
Summary: After the Senate forces Reyna to take a vacation at Camp Half-Blood, Reyna is not what one would call a happy camper. She'd rather be at Camp Jupiter relaxing and making sure nothing burns down. Instead, she is stuck trying to make the best of her situation and enjoy her time at Camp Half-Blood. Between sparring sessions, planning to capture the flag, and being able to see her friends, Reyna thinks she might be able to survive her week and actually enjoy it, until a dark magic falls over Camp Half-Blood. Reyna is one of the few that can stop it, along with a few other unlikely heroes.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Juniper/Grover Underwood
Comments: 27
Kudos: 63





	1. Day Zero: The Senate's Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story on this website, so if there is any issues with formatting, please let me know. This story was also posted on fanfiction.net, but both websites will be treated the same. Neither will get a chapter before the other. The story will be updated about once a week. I hope everyone enjoys.

Being summoned before the Senate never meant anything good. It usually meant that you were in trouble or your life was about to be ruined. For Reyna, it was both. Granted, she hadn't done anything wrong, other than yelling at Frank. It wasn't her fault that he had forgotten his cape and broken a few other uniform rules. If Reyna didn't yell at him, she had no right to yell at the other campers.

As praetors of Camp Jupiter, it was their job to be a shining role model for others. They had to follow guidelines and policies to the letter. Frank did a decent job with the bigger things, but he still let the smaller things slip through the cracks, like his hair being a few centimeters too long. If Frank could master the little things, he would seem like he was in control.

Frank also needed to stop treating the Fifth Cohort like they were friends. It was fine to act like that during their off duty hours, but those moments were very rare for praetors. The eyes of the Senate were always watching them and always waiting for some kind of slip up, which brought Reyna back to her current situation.

Why was Reyna being called to appear in front of the Senate? It was late at night, and most of them should have been in bed. In fact, Reyna wanted to be in bed and curled up with her dogs. Had she not yelled at Frank enough? If they needed, she could find something else to lecture him about. Reyna sighed softly and looked up at the Senate.

Frank, still capeless, sat at the front of the Senate. It had been only two hours since Reyna had snapped at him about his uniform, so he should have headed home, found his cape, and cut his hair, yet here he was, still violating uniform policy. Reyna wanted to cross her arms and glare down the Senate. Instead, she kept her hands clasped in front of her and only imagined strangling them. All she wanted to do was fall asleep. Why did they have to interrupt that?

“Praetor,” Frank began. His eyes moved down to Reyna's hands, as if he could just feel the fingers around his throat. “The Senate has been going over your record, and we've learned that you haven't taken a vacation since joining the legion.”

Reyna couldn't stop the frown that came to her face. Vacation? Why would they care when the last time she had taken a vacation was? Reyna glanced around at the vulture like faces of the Senate and spoke, “I did take a vacation, when I first became a centurion.”

“I wouldn't call that a vacation,” one of the Senators, a child of Apollo, said. “In fact, a broken arm is not a vacation. It is bed rest, and if I recall correctly you still tried to fight that. You haven't taken a real vacation in four years.”

“Praetor Zhang's evaluation is also coming up,” Larry added. Reyna looked at the ceiling. This could not be happening. The Senate couldn't be forcing her on vacation, just so they could evaluate Frank. It wasn't like Frank was going to do that good anyway. He was a sweetheart and all, but he had a lot to learn. The jump from probatio to centurion was a necessity that Reyna did not like, but then, Frank had just been made a praetor.

Frank didn't have the necessary experience to be a great praetor. Sure, he had saved the world, but was that really going to help when a former legionnaire busted into their office and demanded to know why their sweet child got stuck in the fourth cohort? Frank didn't have the time to learn all of the proper procedures and traditions. He couldn't even remember proper dress code, since he still didn't have his cape.

Reyna could feel a headache beginning. She sighed and looked back at Larry. His mouth was still moving. Why was he still talking? Reyna forced herself back into the conversation. Larry cleared his throat and spoke, “So, we've decided to kill three birds with one stone.”

Three birds with one stone? Reyna had heard the phrase before, but she was pretty sure there was only two birds. Seemingly, Frank's evaluation was one bird. Reyna's vacation, which she didn't need, was another one. What was this third bird they were talking about?

“That's why you are going to Camp Half-Blood,” Frank finished. Reyna blinked a few times. Obviously, she was misunderstanding this whole conversation. They wanted her to go to Camp Half-Blood, to take a vacation. That sounded like the opposite of a vacation.

Of course, Reyna liked the Greeks. Nico was there, and Hedge was as well. They were great friends. Annabeth and Percy were there. They were cool. Even Piper and her had a growing friendship. That didn't mean that she wanted to go to their camp. Reyna was just fine at Camp Jupiter.

“I don't know what to say,” Reyna began. A lot of curse words came to her mind, but she needed to keep her calm. It wouldn't do to start cursing out all of the Senators and then get lectured about her attitude. Reyna glanced up at the ceiling and wondered if one of the gods could just strike her down.

“This is something that we have been discussing with Camp Half-Blood for a week,” Frank said. Reyna blinked a few times. We was a pretty funny word to use, considering she was not involved in this decision making process. “Nico will be here in the morning to take you to Camp Half-Blood.”

Hypothetically, Reyna could lunge for Frank and wrap her fingers around his neck. She wouldn't be able to fully strangle him before someone pulled her off, but she would be able to leave a mark. Was it worth the trouble she would get in though?

Before Reyna could put her plan into action and strangle Frank, another Senator cleared their throat and spoke, “The Greeks did not make a good first impression when they fired their ship on our camp. We are hoping to make a good impression on them, by sending one of our best.”

They were definitely kissing her ass now. Reyna crossed her arms and spoke, “So, I am going to Camp Half-Blood, to take my vacation. How is it a vacation, if I'm being ordered by the Senate to go somewhere?”

“You would stay inside Camp Jupiter otherwise,” Frank commented. Reyna met his eyes and glared at him. Frank quickly looked down. “Camp Half-Blood has sent plenty of visitors our way, but we have not returned the favor. We haven't sent anyone to Camp Half-Blood. You will be our first impression to them.”

Reyna bit her tongue. This wouldn't be a first impression. The first impression that they made was Octavian leading an army directly towards Camp Half-Blood and attacking them. He didn't even do a good job of that either. Reyna looked down at the ground and tried to think of anyway out of her situation.

“What about Jason? He is at Camp Half-Blood all of the time with his girlfriend. Everyone likes Jason, so that should be a good enough impression for Camp Half-Blood,” Reyna said. Frank looked at her and smiled slightly. Why was he smiling? Reyna clasped her hands in front of her again and imagined that she was squeezing the life out of her fellow praetor.

“We need a second opinion,” another Senator said. Reyna frowned. Why would they need a second opinion, especially if they were sending Reyna to a friendly camp? “Jason's view on the camp is skewed. He acts more Greek than Roman. We want a true Roman's opinion.”

Reyna shook her head and looked down. There was no way for her to get out of her situation. The Senate was dead set on her going to Camp Half-Blood. Words weren't going to convince them of anything. Instead, she just had to go along and hope for a light sentence.

“How long will I be at Camp Half-Blood for?” Reyna questioned. One day should be enough. Two would be pushing it though. Most of the Senate seemed to relax, as if they didn't expect Reyna to agree with it. She didn't, but there was no need for them to know that.

“A week,” Frank replied. Reyna looked down at the ground and closed her eyes. In general, she didn't like to leave Camp Jupiter. Being away for a few hours made her nervous that she would return to a burned down camp. Leaving for a week meant that she would return to that exact scene.

When Reyna was forced to leave Octavian in control of Camp Jupiter, she at least knew that the camp wouldn't be destroyed. Octavian had been a piece of human garbage, but Camp Jupiter was his home as well. He loved Camp Jupiter as much as Reyna. Gods, how bad was it that she trusted Octavian in charge more than Frank?

“I guess I don't have a say in any of this,” Reyna assumed. The Senate didn't respond, but the silence was more than enough. Reyna sighed and looked down at the ground. She just needed to save her breath. It wouldn't matter what she said. “I'll get my things packed then. What time is Nico going to be here?”

“Six in the morning,” Frank replied. Reyna looked up at him and then back at the ground. Why did she need to go to someplace that she didn't want to go? Why did she need a vacation? If Reyna was going to take a vacation, it should be somewhere that she wanted to go, which, by the way, was nowhere.

“Understood,” Reyna said. She tried to ignore her anger. It wasn't like going to Camp Half-Blood was a death sentence, but she just didn't like being forced to do something. Reyna wasn't a very social person, and all of the campers would want to meet with her. It was just an uncomfortable situation to be in.

“The Senate meeting is over,” Frank said. He walked towards his chair and sunk into it. Reyna walked towards the table and picked up her bowl of jellybeans. It would be a cold day in Tartarus if she left her jellybeans for anyone else in the Senate to have. They could suffer.

Reyna studied her jellybeans and ate one. She leaned on her chair and looked at Frank. Her fellow praetor looked at her. Frank waited for the Senators to file out, and he spoke, “How are you feeling about this?”

“What do you think?” Reyna questioned. She focused back on her jellybeans and squeezed one, imagining it was the head of anyone in the Senate. Frank looked down at the ground. “Who brought the idea forth?”

“I did,” Frank replied. Reyna looked at her fellow praetor and then shook her head. She focused back on her jellybeans. “You're always working so hard. I've never seen you take a break, and I don't want to see you get burned out.”

“I've had to run this camp by myself for months,” Reyna said. She dropped the bowl of jellybeans back onto the table and crossed her arms. “This is me taking it easy, Frank. I don't need a vacation. I need a competent praetor at my side.”

“Oh,” Frank said. He quickly stood. Reyna looked away and sighed. That wasn't suppose to slip out. Even if she thought Frank was incompetent at times, she didn't want to say it out loud. “I hope you have fun at Camp Half-Blood.”

“Frank. Wait,” Reyna began. Frank stormed past her and didn't stop to look back. Reyna knew she should have gone after him. Instead, she sat in her own chair and rested her head against it. Why had she let the words slip out? Reyna had done so good with keeping those comments to herself, and she had a lot of those comments.

Reyna finally stood and walked towards where Frank was gone. Upon stepping outside, she found that Frank was nowhere in sight. Reyna sighed and rubbed her face. She did regret the words, even if they were true. Reyna lifted her head and stared down the road.

Reyna would just have to give Frank time. After her week long punishment, he would be calm enough to forgive her, and hopefully, the evaluation would make him see that Reyna was right. She just wanted Frank to be the best Roman that he could, and sometimes, he needed to get yelled at to accomplish that. Reyna slowly started to walked towards her house and tried to ignore the feeling that she had made a huge mistake.


	2. Day One: Arrival

Reyna almost debated making a run for it. It would be easy to shove Nico down and just run. Granted, she didn't know anything about the area around Camp Half-Blood, but she had found her way from some random shore in America all the way to the Wolf House. Well, the dreams did guide her a little, but the point was that she had trusted her gut and found her way to Lupa.

Now, Reyna just needed to repeat that act and make it to the other side of the country. It shouldn't be too hard, even though she didn't have a weapon or really any armor. The Senate had allowed her a single breastplate to wear. A. Single. Breastplate. Reyna was going to strangle each and every member of the Senate when she got back. What if someone attacked Camp Half-Blood? Would Reyna, gods forbid, have to wear Greek armor?

Reyna didn't even get the cloak that marked her as a praetor. She had nearly died for the thing. Oh, it also allowed her to not get stabbed in the back by swords or shot in the back by arrows. It was also pretty impenetrable. What right did the Senate have to take it away for her so called vacation?

Reyna sighed and stared at the ground. She had gotten two hours of sleep the night before. Guilt had hit her hard, so she spent most of the night looking for Frank, which was complicated by the fact that he never came back to his house. Part of her was concerned that she was about to have another Jason situation, until she saw Hazel and Frank going for a walk. She left them alone and returned to her house to pack, think about what she had said, and then pass out in bed.

Frank didn't say much to her that morning. He told her to message them when she had time and had smiled at her, but the smile was fake. It was full of anger and confusion. Reyna looked down at the ground and kicked some grass. Nico glanced at her. The two hadn't said a word to each other.

“So,” Nico began. Reyna slowly looked at him and crossed her arms. Nico winced and quickly looked away. Reyna looked down. She was acting like a total ass to her best friend. Reyna had already pissed off Frank, and she didn't need to do the same to Nico.

“I'm sorry,” Reyna began. She took a deep breath and sighed. “The Senate told me that I needed to take a vacation, but if I was going to take a vacation, shouldn't I go somewhere that I want to go? Also, a broken arm counts as a vacation. I was on bed rest.”

“Well, yeah. Bed rest is a vacation,” Nico confirmed. Reyna nodded and gave him a grateful look. Finally, someone agreed with her. “It's like when I passed out from shadow travel and slept for an entire week. I woke up, and everyone kept saying that I needed to rest, but I had been doing it for a whole week.”

“Exactly,” Reyna said. “Besides, the last placed I would want to take a vacation is Camp Half-Blood. I could be at my own place, making sure nothing gets burned down. I could also be with my sister. We could probably make it two hours without fighting. Well, I'd change that to one, depending on what she was doing last night.”

“They said that Frank is getting evaluated,” Nico began. He started to walk up the hill. Reyna nodded and looked back at the road. All she had to do was start running and not stop. No one would be able to stop her. Reyna sighed and looked up at the hill. The praetor finally resigned to her fate and walked up the hill. “How does that work?”

“Well, the evaluation happens a few months after the praetor comes into leadership. Once they get a good grasp on things, that is when the Senate decides to pounce like hyenas. They send the senior praetor off on vacation, typically to a place that they want to go to, and they judge the remaining praetor on literally everything that they do,” Reyna answered.

“That's not the worst part though,” Reyna continued. She glanced at Nico. “The Senate is really trying to throw you off your game. Sooner or later, Lupa will be there to evaluate you. She doesn't say a word. She just follows you.”

“Lupa is the wolf goddess, right?” Nico questioned. Reyna nodded. Wolf goddess was putting it lightly. Lupa trained almost every single Roman that made it to Camp Jupiter. Without her blessing, you wouldn't succeed. If Reyna was being honest with herself, Lupa was right up there with Jupiter as the most important immortals in their lives.

“If Lupa does not approve of you as a praetor, that's the end of your career,” Reyna said. “Sometimes, she'll just kill you on the spot. Other times, she'll tear you apart verbally, but she uses as few words as possible. It sounds hilarious, but it's actually terrifying. If you don't quit right then and there, the Senate will begin to show you the door.”

Reyna made it up the hill and found someone waiting for them. Annabeth looked at her and smiled widely. The daughter of Athena walked over to them and spoke, “We were nervous about who they would send. I'm sure any of the Romans would have been fine, but I'm really glad it was you.”

“Thanks,” Reyna began. She looked across Camp Half-Blood. It seemed as if most of the campers were making their way to breakfast, and her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. Annabeth looked at her and grinned. “The Senate thought I was the best choice.”

“It's true,” Nico commented. His eyes moved across the camp, and he seemed to catch sight of his boyfriend. “I'll catch you later, Reyna. Don't try to run out on us.”

“I was going to,” Reyna said. Nico smiled and practically jogged down the hill. Reyna smiled slightly. She was glad that Nico was coming out of his shell more and hanging out with his boyfriend. Nico was a lot happier. Reyna glanced towards Annabeth. “The Senate was sparse on the details.”

“Well, we wanted to plan a lot of activities, but we figured that we should keep things as normal as possible, so you can get a feel for how the camp runs,” Annabeth explained. She led Reyna down the hill and towards the pavilion. “If you want to stay in my cabin, you can. The Ares cabin is available as well. If you're not comfortable sharing a room, the Big House is available as well.”

“If it's not intruding, I'll stay with your cabin,” Reyna said. Annabeth smiled brightly. “I still remember what it is like to sleep in barracks, but if any of you start reciting mathematical formulas in your sleep, I'm leaving.”

“We'll try not to,” Annabeth said. Reyna allowed a smile to cross her face. She didn't know why she had been so upset about being forced to go to Camp Half-Blood, but it was probably because she didn't have a choice in it. The Senate just told her that she was going, and there was nothing that she could do to stop it. The lack of choice just bothered her. “When we eat, you can sit with Chiron or at any of the tables. We usually sit by cabins and don't mingle.”

Annabeth led Reyna into the dinner pavilion. They took their place at the front of a line that was full of children with blonde hair and gray eyes. Reyna assumed it was the children of Athena. Annabeth glanced back at her sibling and spoke, “Everyone, this is Reyna. She's a praetor from Camp Jupiter and will be staying with us for the week. Be nice to her, or you'll be answering to me.”

The children of Athena quickly nodded. Reyna watched them and felt Annabeth nudge her. She turned and was given a plate. She followed Annabeth towards a fire, where Annabeth dumped some of her food into the fire. She seemed to whisper something, and she stepped away.

“We offer a portion to the gods. They like the smell,” a son of Athena whispered. Reyna glanced back at him and nodded. She scrapped some of her food into the fire and sent a collective prayer up to the gods that she would return to an intact Camp Jupiter. “I'm Malcolm.”

“Reyna, but I think you heard that,” Reyna said. Malcolm smiled and scrapped a portion of his food into the fire. Reyna glanced back at Annabeth and quickly followed her to a table. She sat down by Annabeth and quietly started to eat her food.

The rest of the Athena cabin sat around them. They all looked nervous, as if wondering how much they could ask. Reyna allowed a small smile to come to her face. She spoke, “You guys can ask whatever you want.”

“Not all at once though,” Annabeth said quickly. Reyna smirked and looked down at the food. Before the children of Athena could start their questions, they heard the sound of hooves. Reyna frowned and looked up. Chiron smiled at her. Right. He was a centaur. For some reason, she kept forgetting that.

“Praetor, I'm sorry I wasn't there to greet you,” Chiron said. He held out a hand. Reyna clasped it tightly and smiled, to show that no harm was done. “I hope you enjoy your visit to Camp Half-Blood. If you need anything, let me know.”

“I will,” Reyna promised. She looked around. “It might be nice to be a normal camper, for once. Thank you for the hospitality, Chiron.”

“It is the least that we can do,” Chiron said. He looked at Annabeth and gave her a nod. Annabeth returned it, and Chiron walked away. Reyna watched them and focused back on her food. Malcolm glanced at her.

“So, how do you feel about sparring?” Malcolm questioned. Reyna glanced up at him and noticed that he was holding onto a notebook. Annabeth glanced at the notebook and frowned. “Truthfully, we all took bets on who could disarm you first.”

“Wait,” Reyna said. She held up a hand. “You guys took a bet on who could disarm me first? And no one told me? How much is the buy in? I want to take all of your guy's money when you lose.”

Reyna knew she sounded overconfident, even cocky. She was a Roman; therefore, she was a better fighter than the Greeks. Sure, they liked to move around a lot with their stupid rolls and dodges, but two could play at that game. Reyna was also a daughter of Bellona, making her the best fighter at both of the camps.

“Everyone thinks it is going to be Percy or Annabeth. I think it's going to be Clarisse, if she makes it back from her quest in time,” Malcolm replied. He slid the notebook to Reyna. An overwhelming amount of people had placed bets on Percy and Annabeth, and Clarisse had the next amount of bets. More names followed, but Reyna didn't recognize any of them.

“Clarisse isn't going to be back in time,” another daughter of Athena said. “She is on a fake quest looking for a fake item. I don't know why Chiron even humored her.”

Reyna glanced at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena looked at her and spoke, “Clarisse is going to college in a few weeks. She wanted to have one last quest that, in her words, wouldn't be tainted by Percy. That's a long story that I'll tell you tonight. For some reason, Chiron agreed, and Rachel had a single line of prophecy to give to Clarisse.”

“Rachel swears that she didn't make the line up, but I think she just didn't want to hurt Clarisse's feelings,” a third child of Athena added. What kind of line is that anyway? The cursed singing, only blood can free. I've heard some weird prophecies, but that has to be fake.”

Reyna stared at the food and focused on those lines. She had seen them before, in one of their temples. It had come from the Sibylline books, but that prophecy had been completed a long time ago. It was also the reason that Rome had lost their fleet, but Reyna didn't even know the details. It was classified and somehow above Reyna's clearance. It didn't explain why Rachel had used an old prophecy, but maybe, she did feel bad for Clarisse.

“You'll be following my schedule today, but Nico wants to spend time with you tomorrow. Piper called for the day after that, and I think even Clarisse wanted you to follow her schedule after Piper. All Clarisse really does is harass the new kids,” Annabeth said. Reyna nodded, not really hearing the words. All she could think about was that prophecy.

Reyna finally shook her head and focused back on her food. This was suppose to be a vacation, so she would try to relax. There was no need for her to try and get wrapped up in another prophecy or another end the world scenario. Reyna would just try to relax, and hopefully, nothing would ruin that.


	3. Day One: Dinner

“I think this will be a good place to put the flag,” Reyna said. She glanced around the clearing that her and Nico stood in. There was a perfect place to nestle the flag, near some rocks and a cluster of trees. It would be easy to hide a trap or five near the trees. A small grin came to Reyna's face.

It wasn't that Reyna wanted to hurt the Greeks. She just wanted to crush Annabeth's hopes and dreams of winning to a pulp. Reyna hadn't been able to truly participate in any of Camp Jupiter's war games since she became praetor. She was forced to sit there and act as a judge. It would be nice to be able to destroy people and not get yelled at for it.

“I think so,” Nico said. He looked around. “I'm proud of you, Reyna. You haven't tried to escape or murder anyone yet.”

“Give it another day or two,” Reyna said, and a small smile came to her face. She looked around the forest and grabbed a small notebook from her pocket. Reyna leaned against a tree and started to sketch a map of the path they had taken.

Reyna's biggest disadvantage was that she did not know the surrounding terrain, so she was trying to rectify that and make a small map of the forest. The forest seemed to be never ending, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Reyna closed her notebook and tried to think.

Planning for capture the flag was going to be a challenge. Reyna didn't know much about the forest, other than the fact that there was apparently monsters in there. It really made no sense to Reyna. Camp Half-Blood had a barrier designed to keep monsters out of the camp, but they also stockpiled monsters in the forest. Who decided on that?

Reyna also didn't really know anyone in the camp. Annabeth trained with or taught probably all of the campers at Camp Half-Blood, so she knew all of their strengths and weaknesses. Reyna would have to go off of first impressions, and while she had experience with that, she also knew that appearances could be deceiving. Annabeth probably already knew how she was going to win.

Granted, no one expected Venus' cabin to actually be able to win against the children of Minerva. Whispers, and by whispers she meant the taunts from the children of Mars, told Reyna that Piper only won the last game of capture the flag by accident.

The whole concept of capture the flag didn't make sense to Reyna either. The war games were simple enough. Cohorts would team up and go against each other, and there would only be one winner. With capture the flag, the two cabins that held the flags would recruit the other cabins to be on their team. Then, someone would capture a flag, and they would win and become one of the captains for the next week, but the team they were on would win as well, since they didn't lose their flag. Reyna really needed to know who decided on all of this.

It wasn't like anyone really won capture the flag either. It was more like they didn't lose their flag. Reyna sighed and shook her head. She wasn't sure how to plan for this little challenge. Annabeth would have everything planned out, except for Reyna. The daughter of Bellona was a wild card. The only thing Annabeth could plan for was Reyna planning the strategy for her team.

A small smile came to Reyna's face. She knew exactly what her plan for capture the flag was going to be. Reyna spoke, “Hey Nico.”

Reyna looked up and didn't see Nico nearby. She slowly stood and looked to her left. Then, she looked to her right. It took her a few moments to slowly turn around in a full circle and look around for her best friend. A sigh escaped her as she didn't see him.

Nico usually disappeared without saying a word, which was fine. It really was. Reyna didn't mind the fact that he wanted to be alone sometimes. She understood the feeling completely, but there was one small problem with Nico disappearing at that single moment in time. Reyna had no clue where she was.

Reyna looked back at her map and blinked a few times. Then, she sighed and started to walk. One of three things could happen. One, she would find her way back to the main camp. Two, she would come out the other side of the forest near the beach. Three, she would run into a monster, or she might even run into Nico and then kick his ass for leaving her.

Reyna sighed tiredly and glanced at her watch. Dinner was suppose to be soon, or was it happening now? Was that why Nico abandoned her? Reyna frowned and stepped through a cluster of trees. She studied the lake in front of her and glared. That lake was not on her map, so she really was lost.

“Great,” Reyna muttered. She walked towards the water and knelt by it. Reyna dipped her fingers into the water and closed her eyes for a few moments. Her entire day was spent getting a tour of the camp and being introduced to the cabin councilor. Reyna's head hurt, and she was tired of social interaction. All she wanted to do was curl up and fall asleep.

Upon opening her eyes, Reyna found someone staring at her. She slowly looked up and met eyes with a woman. The woman was quite literally sitting in the lake. She sat on the water as if it was the ground, and the water didn't even ripple.

Right. Camp Half-Blood had a ton of Fauns, Nymphs, Naiads, and all different kinds of mythological creatures that just camped out at their door step. If Reyna was going to stay the week, she didn't need to upset any of them. Reyna spoke, “Apologies. I didn't realize that anyone lived here.”

The Naiad, or Nymph, or whatever she was just smiled at Reyna. She had black hair and eyes that were as blue as a calm sea. Instead of speaking, she just smiled and stared. Reyna slowly stood and nodded towards the weird creature.

“Sorry again,” Reyna said. She turned back around and hurried out of the clearing. Reyna let out another tired sigh. Camp Half-Blood was just so chaotic, and she wasn't rested enough to deal with it. Reyna suddenly walked right into someone, and she looked at Nico.

“I was looking for you,” Nico began. Reyna gave him a look. He was the one who walked away from her. “You stopped following me.”

“You left me behind,” Reyna countered. She crossed her arms. Nico returned her look, and they both almost immediately grinned. “When is dinner?”

“Now,” Nico answered. He turned and started to walk. Reyna followed behind him. “If you want, I can hold your hand, so you don't get lost again.”

“I can also throw you up into a tree,” Reyna said. She glared at Nico, and he glared at her. After a moment, they both grinned at each other and continued to walk. Reyna glanced back towards the clearing. “Why do you have so many weird creatures here?”

“It threw me off for a long time too,” Nico admitted. He shrugged. “It's just something that you get use to. Try not to insult them though.”

“I won't,” Reyna promised. She followed Nico out of the forest and tried to keep her thoughts clear. Reyna was suppose to treat this like a vacation, so that was exactly what she was going to do. “I need to talk to Piper during dinner. I know our plan for capture the flag.”

“Everyone is excited to see what plan you have,” Nico said. Reyna just smirked. The rest of their walk was in a comfortable silence. They walked towards the dinner pavilion and slipped into their place in line. As Reyna got her food and scooped some of it into the fire, she could just feel Annabeth staring at her. It would be a little too fun to mess with Annabeth.

Reyna walked towards Nico's table and sat her plate down near him. She took a few moments to meet Annabeth's eyes, and then, she walked towards Piper's table. Reyna sat by Piper and spoke, “I thought of our plan for capture the flag.”

“What is it?” Piper asked. She looked at Reyna and flashed a smile towards her. Reyna couldn't help the smile that came to her face, especially since she knew it would only worry Annabeth more.

“My plan is for you to plan what we will do,” Reyna said. Piper stared at her for a few moments, and a confused look came to her face. “Think about it. Annabeth and I have been teasing each other about going head to head in capture the flag. I keep saying that I can make a better plan than her, and all she can do is talk about how her mother is a goddess of battle strategies. I'm a Roman. That stuff runs through my veins.”

“You're getting off topic,” Piper interrupted.

“The point is that Annabeth is fixated on the fact that I am going to make the plan. She is going to expect a plan similar to hers, like one that a child of war would make. She won't expect whatever you come up with. You know everything about this camp, and I am your wild card. Put me wherever you want, Piper. I trust you,” Reyna said.

“I never made a war plan before,” Piper said. She nodded to herself. “You think I can make a plan that beats Annabeth?”

“Let me tell you a secret,” Reyna said. She leaned in closer to Piper. “You can make the best plan in the world, but if your troops don't listen to you, it can fall apart instantly. I believe in you, and I know that everyone else does. Be confident, and we will beat Annabeth.”

“Thank you,” Piper said. Reyna smiled at her, and she stood from the table. She walked back towards Nico and sat across from him. Nico studied her, and Reyna just grinned at him. She focused on her food.

Her first day was not that bad, and the next day would be even better, since she would be following Nico around. Apparently, he would be teaching some of the newer campers how to fight monsters. Reyna couldn't wait to just stand there and judge them. Could she get one of them to cry?

“Oh gods. There is a sing along, isn't there?” Reyna realized. Nico looked at her and smirked. Reyna sighed and buried her face in her hands. “Can we just skip it?”

“Chiron is going to make his announcements and then introduce you to the entire camp,” Nico answered. Reyna swore. “And, we will get to know how everyone feels about you being here. The campfire reflects their mood.”

“You're joking,” Reyna said, and she lifted her head. Nico looked dead serious. “Fine. We'll attend the campfire, but if you think I am going to sing, I will throw you into the flames.”


	4. Day Two: Breakfast

For the first time since delivering the Athena Parthenos, Reyna wasn't able to control her dreams. She wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she kept thinking about what she said to Frank or just being in a strange place without her dogs at her side. Reyna tried to look at her surroundings, but everything was murky and hard to see. It felt like a weight was dragging her down.

Reyna tried to move her arms, but it felt like she was moving through jello. Reyna slowly looked around and watched a fish swim by her face. Her breath hitched for a moment, and she realized that she was underwater. Her breathing sounded heavy, thanks to the rebreather that she wore. Reyna slowly moved through the water. Her hand hit the flashlight that was at her side, and it flickered back on.

Reyna stared at the sunken ship in front of her. She slowly made her way towards a small hole in the ship. It was barely large enough for her to slip through, especially with the oxygen tank on her back. Reyna placed both hands to the hole and slowly pulled herself inside.

A shaky breath left her, and the oxygen tank seemed to weigh ten more pounds. Reyna did everything in her power to keep from taking deep breaths and wasting the precious oxygen that she had left. Her eyes swept around the ship.

Her boots crunched on the ground and something that sounded like bone. Reyna did an awkward half swim half walk towards the stairs that led further down into the ship. There was nothing on the second deck, except for a few pieces of bone and wood.

Reyna made her way down to the third deck. The desk was covered in chairs, tables, weapons, and skeletons. All of it floated through the water. She slowly pushed her way through all of the wreckage and made her way to a room at the far end of the ship. Reyna grabbed onto the door and tried to open it.

When nothing budged, she was forced to moved backwards and examine the door. Half of a rusted lock was on the door, but when she removed it, she still couldn't open the door. Reyna slowly turned around and grabbed the sword with the least amount of rust that she could find. Reyna used the sword to pry off the hinges of the door.

Reyna swam into the room and looked around. Her gaze focused on the black box that floated in the middle of the room, and she swam towards it. Reyna grabbed the box and examined it. The box was covered in Greek writing and below that was symbols she had never seen before. She opened it slightly. Reyna shined the light inside and stared down at the three solid objects that rested in the box. They were black and almost looked like a heart that Reyna had seen in old horror movies.

This was the box that Blackbeard described. He really wanted it and claimed that it could be found at the bottom of the ship. Reyna closed the box and let go of it. If Blackbeard wanted the damn box so badly, he could swim down here himself and get it. Reyna shoved the box away.

Reyna slowly backed away and made it out of the room. Reyna swam towards the stairs and carefully swam up them. She made it back towards the hole in the ship and slowly squeezed through it. The oxygen tank was starting to weigh more and more, and her muscles were screaming in pain.

Despite the pain in her muscles, she forced herself to kick up towards the surface of the water. Even though it probably only took a minute or two, it felt like it took years to break the surface of the water. Reyna tore off her rebreather and took deep breaths of fresh air. Two pirates grabbed onto her and pulled her out of the water.

One of the pirates helped her take the oxygen tank off. Reyna practically collapsed onto the deck, and she took deep, tired breaths. Another pirate offered her a canteen of water. He spoke, “Any luck down there?”

“No box,” Reyna lied. She took a sip of the water and glanced down at the wet suit that she was wearing. Reyna felt one of the pirates grab her arm, and she winced at the nasty cut that was on her arm. “There was weapons and skeletons.”

“The ship was sank by a mutiny,” the pirate explained. He helped Reyna out of the wet suit. She shivered and looked down at the ragged shirt that she wore. The pirate gently poured clean water on her arm and helped bandage the wound. “Some say half the men went insane hearing a singing. They fought their friends and caused some of the gunpowder under the ship to explode. It sank straight to the bottom.”

“Why does Blackbeard want it?” Reyna asked. She shivered and looked down. Blackbeard would be in his office, going over the results of his latest raid with Hylla. She had quickly earned the pirate captain's respect and been keeping both of them safe.

“Blackbeard thinks that the mutiny was caused by how valuable the treasure was, and the few survivors made up that story to buy themselves time,” the pirate answered. He helped Reyna stand. “We saved some food for you.”

Reyna nodded and looked down at the ground. She heard thunder roar and quickly looked up. The pirate gripped her shoulder, and they heard another roar, but it wasn't from the thunder. Reyna felt the ship shake, and the deck disappeared from underneath her.

Reyna's eyes snapped open, and she quickly sat up. She could still hear the deafening clap of thunder. Her heart was racing, and she slowly laid back against the bed. It only took a few moments for two concerned faces to look down at her.

“You okay?” Annabeth asked. Reyna managed a small nod. She closed her eyes as she remembered the sea monster that had attacked them. They barely escaped, and it was only by Hylla's quick thinking that they did. It also marked the moment that Blackbeard began to plot on how to get rid of them.

“Just a dream,” Reyna said. She took a moment to even out her breathing and calm down. It seemed like she had woken up only Malcolm and Annabeth, unless they were already awake. Reyna slowly sat up again, knowing she wouldn't being able to fall back asleep.

“Was it a demigod dream that warned of someone in trouble?” Malcolm asked. Reyna shook her head. “Just a regular nightmare then?”

“More like reliving a memory,” Reyna answered. She shivered. “It was back with Blackbeard. He wanted me to find some kind of sunken treasure, and when I found it, I left it there. We were attacked by a sea monster as soon as I made it back to the ship. It was probably the protector of the wreck.”

“I's almost breakfast time,” Annabeth said. Reyna nodded slightly and stood. She watched Annabeth wake the rest of her siblings. Reyna shook her head and looked away. She just needed to forget her dream and shake the feeling that something was wrong.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast was rather uneventful, especially since the children of Minerva, well Athena, were talking about their homework. What kind of conversation was that? Who just sat there, talked about homework, and actually enjoyed themselves?

Reyna mostly picked at her food, unable to shake her dream. The children of Athena would spare glances at her, but they didn't question her about it. Annabeth kept studying her in clear concern. Reyna kept trying to avoid the gaze, not wanting to explain that she was worried about nothing.

As they all stood to leave, they heard a yell from across the camp. Reyna's hand moved to her sword, but she saw a child of Mars stand on the table and scream, “Derek!”

“Marvin!” a voice, presumably Derek, yelled back. Reyna glanced at Annabeth. There was an annoyed look on Annabeth's face. Marvin jumped off of the table and started to run. Before he could fully leave the dinner pavilion, someone slammed into him. “Marvin!”

“Derek!” Marvin yelled as he was lifted from his feet. He looked up at the sky. “Clarisse!”

“Looks like they made it back,” Annabeth muttered. Reyna studied the two children of Mars. They were practically yelling their names at each other. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clarisse walk into the pavilion. There was a huge grin on her face and a bag in her hands. Clarisse pulled a box out of the bag and placed it on a table near her siblings.

As Reyna looked at the box, her breath caught in her throat. It was the same box from her dream. The only difference now was the symbols below the writing were gone. Could it really be the same box though? Reyna had left the damn thing buried at the bottom of the sea.

“I know you normally do this, Chiron, but I want to make the speech about my successful return,” Clarisse said. After a moment, Chiron gave a nod. Clarisse smiled and stood on top of the table. She looked around. “To everyone who said that this quest was fake, you can suck it, especially the nerds. That is all.”

Clarisse jumped off of the table, and her siblings immediately surrounded her. They seemed to be trying to get a glance of what was inside the box. Reyna slowly stood and made her way towards the table. She could see the open box had more writing on the lid, but no one paid attention to it.

Inside the box, three blackened hearts rested. It seemed like the bottom of the box had been molded perfectly to fit the hearts in it. Reyna stared. Those were the same hearts from her dream. Did she have the dream for this reason? Or, was she just getting that dream because she was in the Greek camp and all of the weird things happened there?

A hand grasped Reyna's shoulders, knocking her out of her thoughts. She glanced at Clarisse, and the daughter of war grinned at her. Clarisse spoke, “They actually managed to drag you here? I'm surprised.”

“I had to,” Reyna said with a small shrug. Her gaze stayed focused on the box, but she finally sighed and shook her head. “It's a good thing you returned in one piece, so I can beat you at sparring.”

“I can't wait to embarrass you,” Clarisse sneered, but a smirk quickly came to her face. Reyna smirked as well. She had sparred with Frank plenty of times, and he was a good opponent. Clarisse had been training longer than Frank, and she was a Greek. Her fighting style was going to make no sense and be chaotic. It would be a challenge, especially since Clarisse was a seasoned warrior.

“Roman!” a voice yelled. Reyna glanced around. Everyone in the dinner pavilion was still looking at Clarisse and the box. No one seemed to make any movement of recognition, so it didn't seem like anyone there was named Roman. Who was yelling then?

Reyna's answer came as two hands wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her side. She was picked off of the ground and trapped in a tight hug. Reyna turned her head and caught the beady little eyes of her Faun friend. She spoke, “It's nice to see you too.”

“If I had known you were coming, I wouldn't have gone on the quest,” Hedge said, and he placed Reyna back on the ground. Reyna studied Hedge. He had a few scrapes and bruises on him, but he looked otherwise unharmed. Why was he going on a quest though?

“You went on the quest with Clarisse and the yelling child of Mars?” Reyna asked. Hedge smiled and nodded. “Why?”

“Clarisse needed backup,” Hedge said, and he puffed his chest out. “Who would be better than me?”

A lot of answers ran throughout Reyna's head. Hedge was a good friend to her, but he also had a family. Why was he going on a quest that he didn't need to go on? It wasn't like that single line of the prophecy called for him directly. There was no need to go out on a quest and possibly have something terrible happen.

“I'm just glad you made it back safe. Who else is going to keep my visit entertaining?” Reyna asked. She smiled and noticed that everyone was starting to settle back down. Rachel and Chiron were standing by the box that Clarisse held. “What was the prophecy?”

“Well, you know how Rachel's powers are broke, right?” Hedge asked. Reyna nodded and sat on a table. She kept her gaze on the box. “She received two things in a dream: that single line of the prophecy and a location. Clarisse took that information and managed to find a shipwreck.”

“Was there a sea monster?” Reyna asked. Hedge shook his head. Reyna nodded once and crossed her arms. “Any idea what those hearts are?”

“I think they belonged to some famous sailors or pirates,” Hedge answered. He glanced at Reyna. “It doesn't really matter. I know that Chiron only put this quest together to give Clarisse one last adventure. Clarisse has been a part of this camp for so long that Chiron wanted to honor her in some way before she leaves.”

“That doesn't sound weird to you?” Reyna asked. She sighed and looked down. “Did Chiron put the box in that shipwreck, or did he know it was going to be there?”

“It was just the location that Rachel received,” Hedge replied. He grabbed Reyna's arm and practically dragged him towards Nico's table. They both sat down by Nico. “It's nothing to worry about. We found the shipwreck without any issue. Clarisse is a little upset there was no fight.”

“She'll have enough of a fight tomorrow,” Nico commented. He showed Hedge a list. “We're all betting on who is going to win. My bets are on Reyna.”

“I'll put my money on Reyna too,” Hedge said. He looked at Reyna. “Don't let me down, Roman.”

“You may as well double down,” Reyna said with a grin. She focused on her table and grabbed her plate of food. Reyna really needed to relax and calm down. This was suppose to be a vacation. She didn't to worry about other people's fake quest that involved hearts in a box. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?


	5. Day Three: Sparring

Reyna hated children of Venus. She really really hated them. It wasn't bad enough that they barely did anything around camp. It wasn't bad enough that Venus herself had condemned Reyna's love life. Why did they even exist? Reyna could count how many children of Venus she liked on one hand, and spoilers, Piper was the only one. As Reyna laid on her back and stared up at the sword inches from her face, she hated children of Venus even more.

The day started out simple enough. Reyna ate her breakfast, enjoyed a little peaceful walk through the forest, and then was ambushed by the fact that she would sparring in about a hour. It gave Reyna enough time to warm up, get in a few reps, and browse through Camp Half-Blood's armory.

Reyna had no plans on actually using a weapon that belonged to the Greeks. She still had her own sword at her side, and since that sword could turn into a javelin, she was set. The time in the armory was spent comparing her sword to that of the Greek's, to see which one was sturdier and had the longer reach. She also ended up taking one of the swords in case she wanted to use two swords at once.

The entire camp, even Chiron, gathered to watch the fight, like they were spectating gladiator games. To condense the fighting, five names were drawn out of a hat, and Reyna was sure that it was just luck that Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse were three of the names drawn. Reyna was allowed to pick the order in which she fought the Greeks, which totally made up for the fact that she had to fight five different demigods.

Reyna knew it was coming, of course. She had more than enough fun acting like she could take on anyone in a fight, which was true. She could take on any of the Greeks in a fight and most likely win. Taking on five Greeks back to back was a little more of a challenge though.

Annabeth was the clear first choice. If she was able to watch Reyna fight, she would just completely pick apart Reyna's fighting style. While it was no secret that Romans were trained by Lupa and all had a similar fighting style, Reyna had picked up plenty of other techniques along the way, and she knew that she would have to rely on them.

Annabeth would have studied the Roman fighting style or even sparred with Jason to get use to it. Truthfully, it could have just been Annabeth trying to learn other fighting styles and expand her own horizons, but it was also clear that Annabeth just wanted to get the upper hand.

Reyna would later be told that their battle was amazing, and she knew it was. Reyna pushed the Roman fighting style hard, standing her ground and attacking Annabeth with absolute ferocity. Annabeth fell into a groove of dodging and landing a few minor hits. The daughter of Athena clearly did her homework, and that led to her downfall. She clearly wasn't expecting Reyna to flip her sword into a javelin and then pull out another sword. When Annabeth tried to backpedal and adjust her fighting style, she ended up disarmed and on her back.

The next fight was against Percy, and Reyna played that one a little more defensively. She wasted a few minutes fixing her armor and trying to relax. Part of the reason was because the Greek armor was unfamiliar to her. It was lighter than Roman armor, but sooner or later, it was going to start weighing her down. The other reason was because Percy Jackson was a cheating bastard. He kept dousing himself with water as Reyna was fighting Annabeth.

Reyna won that one because she kneed Percy in the groin. The fight was running a little too long, and Percy had almost gotten her a few times, so Reyna “accidentally” slammed her knee right into his groin. When he collapsed, she placed her sword to his neck and apologized.

The third fight was the hardest of the three, and that was because apparently, Clarisse could just toss Reyna around like she was a toddler, and the daughter of war did so, twice. Reyna barely managed to land on her feet both times, and she almost got skewered twice.

Oh, Clarisse's spear was cheating as well. It grazed Reyna's leg, and she pretty much lost all feeling in the limb. Reyna was forced to hobble around and try to avoid the wrecking bull that seemed to want to run a spear through her. Clarisse knew that this was just a fun sparring session, right? There was no prize for murdering Reyna and spilling her guts everywhere.

Apparently, that little thing with Clarisse's spear numbing a limb was her signature move, which made sense when one considered that she was now on Lamer the Third or Fourth. That was what all of the campers called the weapon at least, and Clarisse, like all children of Mars, should have known to treat her weapon with more respect. The lack of respect was probably why Reyna managed to break Clarisse's spear.

The breaking of the weapon caused a minor explosion. No one was hurt, of course. Reyna was just thrown backwards, landed hard on her shoulder, and managed to scramble to her feet. She managed to pin Clarisse and place a sword to her neck. Reyna had then promptly collapsed onto her back for the next ten minutes and wondered exactly why she agreed to do this.

The fourth fight last, well, four seconds. It was against a children of Ceres named Miranda, Amanda, or something like that. Reyna just threw her javelin at the demigod, before a plant could squeeze her to death or trip her. Of course, Reyna threw the blunt end of the javelin towards her opponent. She wasn't a monster, and she had been kind enough to catch the daughter of Ceres as she dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The final fight was with a child of Venus named Drew. It also led Reyna to her current predicament, even if she couldn't exactly remember how. The fight should have been over in a blink of an eye, and it was, just not in the way that Reyna thought it would.

After the demigods watching seemed to get over their stunned silence, a cheer rose up from them. Reyna slowly sat up and stared at Drew. How in Bellona's name had that happened? Reyna remembered attacking Drew, and somehow, she ended up on her back with her sword ten feet away. Did Mars decide to do Venus a favor and bless one of her children with the ability to actually fight? Was it just a freak accident?

Reyna couldn't help but feel angry. How had she lost to a child of Venus? It was the ultimate insult. Reyna could handle losing to Annabeth, Percy, or Clarisse. They were all seasoned veterans and children of powerful gods. She could have even handled losing to plant girl.

Reyna had to be the bigger person though. Everyone was watching them. It took Reyna a moment to swallow her pride and speak, “Congratulations Drew.”

“Does this mean that I am a praetor now?” Drew asked. Reyna rolled her eyes and tried to push the anger away. Winning four fights in a row was commendable, and she could just blame the loss on a bum shoulder and exhaustion. Drew grinned down at her and then disappeared into the crowd of her siblings. Would it be a bad look for Reyna to pick up her javelin and murder Drew?

“That was amazing,” Nico said. He appeared on Reyna's right and knelt by her. Reyna glanced at him, and Nico grinned at her. “You took out three of Camp Half-Blood's best fighters, and you only lost because Drew got lucky.”

“Are you hurt?” Will asked, as he appeared on Reyna's left. Nico gave his boyfriend a look. Will returned the look, but after a moment, a small smile came to his face. “That was pretty cool though. And, that was perfect aim on the javelin throw. Miranda doesn't have a concussion.”

The two gently grabbed Reyna's arms and helped her stand. A small curse escaped Reyna, and she placed a hand to her shoulder. Will gently grabbed her hand and lowered it. He felt along her shoulder and spoke, “Does it hurt to move?”

“Yeah,” Reyna replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Percy and Annabeth talking to each other. Percy made eye contact with her and pointed downwards. He gave her a questioning look. Reyna just shrugged, and Percy couldn't hide his grin. Annabeth glanced over and gave Reyna a thumbs up. Miranda sat by her siblings, and they all seemed to be in good spirits. Clarisse was nowhere in sight though, and neither were the broken remains of her spear.

Reyna was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She jumped and glanced at Will. Even though she wanted to strangle him, she spoke, “Thank you, Will. Please warn me next time.”

“I won't,” Will promised. Reyna shoved him away, and he grinned. “Even though you were disarmed by Drew, you shouldn't take your anger out on anyone.”

“You're hilarious, Solace. Do you want to spar together tomorrow?” Reyna asked. Will laughed nervously. “Oh, there's a capture the flag game that is going to happen soon, right? Which team are you on again?”

“Well, Will and I always work together, so that means you won't be able to destroy him then. We could probably arrange a sparring session between you two. As for capture the flag, you can take your anger out on Annabeth and her team,” Nico said, and he threw his arm around Reyna's shoulder. Reyna couldn't stop herself from grinning. Her annoyance at the sparring session was long gone. “Besides, that is the fastest I have ever seen Drew move, even faster than when she tries to grab a fashion magazine.”

“I guess I have that affect on people,” Reyna said, and she managed a half shrug. Her shoulder ached, but she would get over it Will held out ambrosia, and Reyna just stared at it. He held it closer to her, and she crossed her arms. Will crossed his arms as well, and they both stared each other down.

“Take it,” Nico ordered. Reyna looked at her best friend, and he gave her a look. She returned the look but sighed. Reyna took the ambrosia from Will. She ate it and almost smiled as it tasted like the brownies from New Rome.

A small frown came to Reyna's face. She was trying to enjoy her visit to Camp Half-Blood, and for the most part, she was. The only problem was that she missed Camp Jupiter. It wasn't even worry about what would happen with Frank in charge. Reyna just missed being at Camp Jupiter.

Reyna always considered Camp Jupiter her home, but now, she was realizing how much of a home it was. It was a place where Reyna was safe, and she felt like she had a true family. Reyna felt someone nudge her shoulder, and she slowly looked at Nico. He spoke, “You okay?”

“I think I'm a little homesick,” Reyna admitted. She looked down and shrugged. “It's only been a few days, so it's a little pathetic.”

“It's hard being away from home,” Will said. Reyna glanced at him. “It's always good to have a nice break though. It's nice to have a place to clear your head and be able to relax. Nico's a pretty big plus too.”

“I would say he is a short plus,” Reyna said, and she leaned on Nico. He glared at her. Reyna grinned. She looked around Camp Half-Blood. This could be a second home, and wasn't that the ultimate goal? Complete unity between the two camps with enough distance to keep their own identities. “I think I'm going to send a message to Frank tonight, to check on him.”

“We'll help you set it up, after we collect our money for Drew winning,” Will said. Reyna stared at the two of them. Will started laughing. “I'm kidding. I put all my money on you.”

“I changed my bet to Drew after you picked the order of who you were fighting,” Nico said. Reyna stared at him with a look of betrayal on her face. He smiled and patted her shoulder gently. “I knew one of three things would happen.”

“Three?” Reyna asked. She crossed her arms and glared down at him. “What exactly would those three things be?”

“One, you would get overconfident after beating four demigods and underestimate Drew. Two, you would get some kind of injury from Clarisse that would hinder you. I guess both of those were right. Three, Drew would use charmspeak on you, and your eyes would trail a little too much.”

“Shut up Nico,” Reyna said. She shook her head. “Just because you do it when sparring Percy doesn't mean I'll do it while sparring with Drew, and it's not like Drew is that hot anyway.”

“That's right. Piper is your type,” Nico said. Reyna whacked him in the head. Nico laughed. Reyna glared at him and crossed her arms once again. “It's not my fault that I know you so well.”

“I'm going to throw you into the lake,” Reyna decided. Nico's eyes widened, and he turned to run. Reyna grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him backwards. She grabbed onto his waist and lifted him. “Help me, Solace.”

“Sure. Why not?” Will asked, and he grabbed Nico's kicking legs. Reyna kept Nico's arms trapped to his side, and with Will's help, they started to carry Nico towards the lake. “It might be a little far. What about the bathroom?”

“That's a good idea, We can just dunk his head inside,” Reyna said. Nico tried to struggle with the two of them, but he wasn't able to. They made it towards the bathroom, and Reyna met Will's eyes. He nodded to her, and they both let go of Nico.

Nico stood and punched both of their shoulders. He spoke, “You two are dead meat. When you least expect it, I will get the two of you. Mark my words.”

Reyna laughed and wrapped an arm around Nico. He glared at her, even though it looked like he was struggling not to smile. Reyna glanced at Will, and she let out a sigh. She missed Camp Jupiter, but she would be back there soon. For now, she would enjoy the time with the people who were quickly becoming a second family.


	6. Day Three: The Message

“Oh Arcus, goddess of rainbows. Wait. Damn it. Oh Iris, goddess of rainbows, show me Frank Zhang praetor of the twelfth legion at Camp Jupiter,” Reyna said. She glanced back at Nico, who gave her a thumbs up. Nico then stepped out of the room.

Reyna watched the mist clear away to form an image of Frank. He was sitting down at his desk and staring down at some paperwork. Reyna studied her fellow praetor for a moment. Considering he was slouched back in his chair and glaring angrily at the table, he was alone and had his door closed. Hopefully.

“Evening,” Reyna greeted. Frank looked up in surprise. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked back at the papers on his desk. “I'm still at Camp Half-Blood, so I have been following orders. I can get Nico to show you.”

“I believe you,” Frank muttered. He didn't sound too happy. Reyna frowned and leaned back in her chair. Frank's evaluation couldn't be going this bad already. Lupa wasn't even there yet, and if the senators were already getting under his skin, he wasn't going to make it through the week. “Did you need something?”

“Just checking in,” Reyna said. Frank seemed mad, but she couldn't tell why. “Don't let the Senate bother you too much. They're just trying to get under your skin and make it hard for you focus.”

“I know,” Frank said. He stood and grabbed a file from the bookcase behind him. Then, he sat back at his desk and focused on the file. Reyna frowned and crossed her arms. “Is there anything else you needed, or did you just want to check in?”

“It's not working to check in, is it?” Reyna questioned. She studied Frank's face. He finally looked up and met her eyes. “What is bothering you so badly?”

Frank looked down and seemed to think about the question. Reyna frowned. It wasn't that hard of a question. If a senator was bothering Frank, he knew that he could rant to Reyna about it. Gods knew that she told her dogs all about the people her bothered her. Frank finally looked up again and spoke, “You.”

“My problem is with you,” Frank said. Reyna stared at him and raised an eyebrow. She wasn't even there to bother him, and while they did have a small disagreement before she left, Frank should have gotten over it.

“I didn't mean to say that I need a competent praetor at my side,” Reyna began. She met Frank's eyes. Part of her wish that she had searched harder for Frank that night. “I do have a good praetor at my side.”

“Good. Not competent,” Frank muttered. He shook his head. There was a look of hurt in his eyes. Reyna sighed and looked down. Frank really needed to learn how to take criticism and use it to better himself. There was no need for him to take Reyna's words to heart. “Do you insult me to all of the centurions or just your dogs?”

Reyna's eyes shot up in surprise. There may have been a few, well a lot, of times that she talked to her dogs about Frank, but she did that for everyone who annoyed her. It wasn't like Reyna's dogs were magically going to gain vocal cords and tell everyone what Reyna had said about them. It was a way for her to vent, when she couldn't do it to anyone else.

“Frank, let me explain,” Reyna said. She vividly remembered being really mad at Frank the night before she went to Camp Half-Blood, and she may have told her dogs about him. There was no one else around though, so how did Frank hear? “Listen.”

“No,” Frank interrupted. He stood and glared at her. The glare was so piercing that Reyna almost flinched, and she was a little proud. “I need to focus on making sure that I do a good job on this evaluation. I clearly don't have the support of my senior praetor, so I have to try and get the support of the Senate. I'll make sure nothing burns down before you get back.”

Reyna tried to protest, but Frank ran a hand though the Iris message. Reyna stared at the wall and put both hands to her face. After taking a few, angry breaths, she grabbed a spare drachma from the table and flung it at the fountain. Reyna then turned and stormed out of the room.

If Frank would just do his damn job, Reyna would have faith in him. She was doing her best to keep Camp Jupiter together. It wasn't easy to have the entire weight of Camp Jupiter on her shoulders, and only her shoulders, for months. Then, she had to get everything back under control after Octavian's little display of power. Instead of Jason coming back or someone experienced stepping up, she was left with Frank.

Reyna didn't mind Frank. He was truly a great guy, but great guys did not make great praetors. Frank didn't have the experience to be a great praetor. He barely had any experience as a centurion for the gods' sake. Reyna stepped out of the Big House.

Normally, she could just go for a walk to the Garden of Bacchus and calm herself down. Instead, she was stuck inside Camp Half-Blood, which didn't have any hills. The only true hill they had was their barrier, and Reyna didn't need anyone to think that she was making a run for it. Reyna sighed and looked at the ground. She started to walk aimlessly.

Why was Frank taking everything so personally? He needed to learn that not everything Reyna said was an insult. She needed to vent too, and she would never talk about Frank to the centurions. One of her rules was to never vent about an equal to someone that was a lower rank.

Didn't Frank understand how difficult it was to teach him everything that he needed to know and also run the camp? It was almost like being by herself again, but now, she could see the person next to her and know that they weren't pulling their weight. Reyna sighed angrily and saw the ground turn from grass to sand.

Reyna slowly walked towards the shore of the beach and sat down. Her gaze focused at the calm sea. Despite not being a child of Neptune, she always felt a connection to the sea. There was many times when the sea would look calm, but a storm was brewing underneath. That was how Reyna felt most of the time.

Being a praetor was a huge responsibility, and Reyna didn't know if Frank was truly up to the task. Sure, he had been one of the seven great heroes, and their story would turn into a legend that would be shared through future generations. This wasn't the future generations though, and no one cared about those stories yet. The heroes would be judged by what they did next.

“The Harpies are going to be out soon,” a voice said. Reyna's eyes flickered away from the sea, but she didn't turn her head. She felt someone sit next to her. Reyna sighed and looked down at the sand. Out of the corner of eye, she could see kind eyes staring at her. “We don't want you to be eaten.”

Reyna didn't answer. She wasn't in a joking mood. In fact, she wanted to just sink into the sand or sea, whichever would take her, and forget her problems. A sigh left her, and she glanced at Piper. The daughter of Venus watched her quietly.

“We don't have to talk about what's bothering you, but we should get you off the beach soon,” Piper said. Reyna shook her head and brought her knees to her chest. She rested her head against her knees and stared out at the sea. “Did something happen at Camp Jupiter?”

“Frank is mad at me,” Reyna answered. She sighed and looked back at the sand. “He heard me ranting to Aurum and Argentum about him. I didn't mean any of it though. I just get frustrated and need to get my anger out sometimes. Frank takes everything to heart.”

“Frank doesn't even know our history and traditions,” Reyna continued. She glared out at the sea. “I don't want him to be able to recite everything off like he's a walking textbook, but he should at least know what celebrations come in the next month and be able to tell probatios a little bit about each of the cohorts.”

“Who is suppose to teach him about your history and traditions?” Piper asked. Reyna glanced at her. Piper was using her dagger to draw in the sand and seemed pretty content. Reyna slowly stretched her legs out and laid back in the sand. She stared at the sky.

“The centurions of Frank's cohort should have taught him everything that he needed to know,” Reyna finally responded. She stared up at the stars. “Frank should have had a firm knowledge of everything, before he reached the rank of centurion, so he could teach the others in his cohort. That obviously didn't happen.”

“Frank was pretty much forced to accept the role of praetor,” Piper said. Reyna glanced at the daughter of Venus. She had heard the story before, and it still stung at her heart. Jason lost his way when he went to Camp Half-Blood. He became more Greek than Roman. Would she lose anymore campers that way, once they allowed legionnaires to openly visit Camp Half-Blood? “Frank is trying his best, Reyna.”

“Have you been helping him?” Piper asked. Reyna remained silent. “I know I sound like I am just trying to defend a friend, and I know that you don't think a Greek would know anything about being a praetor. Maybe, you can teach Frank what he needs to know or just understand that he is trying to do his best in a position that was thrust upon him.”

“Frank has told us before that he feels overwhelmed,” Piper continued. “He can't ask the other senators or centurions for help. They would probably just find him undeserving of his position and wouldn't listen to him. The one person who should be helping him is mocking him, even if it's just to her dogs.”

Reyna closed her eyes and didn't respond. Piper was right, Of course, the daughter of Venus was right. Reyna should have been helping Frank, but she was so frustrated with everything and taking it out on Frank. He was trying his best, and it would take time. Reyna didn't feel comfortable in her position as centurion when she was first promoted, and the senior centurion was a great help to her. He greatly prepared her to lead her cohort and eventually the whole legion.

“We should probably get back to our cabins,” Piper said softly. Reyna heard the sound of Piper standing and slowly opened her eyes. The daughter of Venus offered a hand, and after a moment, Reyna took it. She was helped to her feet but still didn't say a word.

Piper glanced at her and then started to walk towards the cabins. Reyna slowly followed after Piper. Truthfully, she felt terrible. How could she be so wrapped up in her problems that she didn't realize how Frank was feeling? Reyna was the one person that he should have been able to vent to and look up to. Instead, she had been a total bitch to him.

How was she even going to begin to make up to Frank? The first thing would be an apology, but she would also have to stand back and examine the entire approach that she took with Frank. He clearly reached his breaking point with her earlier, and honestly, Reyna didn't blame him.

As they walked past the Big House, Reyna glanced at it. She could send him a message now, but he probably needed time to calm down. She needed time to think of a proper apology. Reyna made a promise to herself to send Frank an Iris message first thing in the morning. Reyna's eyes moved back towards the daughter of Venus.

“Piper,” Reyna said. Piper turned towards her. Reyna looked down. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Piper promised. With those words, she turned and hurried towards her cabin. Since Piper was hurrying and there was an odd cackling behind her, Reyna figured it was time to get into a cabin. The last thing that she wanted to do was be eaten by Harpies. If she did get eaten, who would teach Frank to be a proper praetor? Percy? Gods no. Jason? Over her dead body.


	7. Day Four: How to Ruin a Vacation

Even before Reyna was fully awake, she knew that she had a headache. There was a slight buzz in her ears, and her forehead just ached. Reyna placed both hands to her face and sighed tiredly. She spent most of the night before tossing and turning, sleeping but not really getting any rest. Between the conversation with Frank and the lack of sleep, it would explain why she had such a headache. It only made her more annoyed.

A glance at her watch showed that it was five in the morning. Reyna groaned softly. Being on vacation meant that she would sleep in to at least seven. Reyna buried her head under the pillow, but it didn't stop the buzzing. Was Chiron playing one of his records? Why was it so loud?

Reyna slowly sat up and looked around the cabin. There was no one in the cabin, and oddly, the beds weren't made. Something had to be wrong. Annabeth forced her siblings to make their bed every morning, and if an apocalypse was happening, Annabeth would probably ask for it to wait while she made her bed. Another glance around the room showed that there was various shoes and slippers scattered about, and none of them had a matching pair.

Reyna closed her eye annoyed. It looked like something had happened, and all of the children of Athena just grabbed what clothing they could and rushed out of the cabin. If the camp was being attacked, someone should have woken Reyna up. Even though Reyna was on vacation, that didn't mean she couldn't help out in a fight.

The praetor walked towards the cabin door and opened it. The pressure in her forehead increased, and she gritted her teeth angrily. Reyna really respected Chiron, but she also really hated the fact that her head felt like it was going to explode. The singing didn't sound like it was from a male voice, and Reyna was pretty sure that Chiron's favorite artist was male. Did someone give him a new record to listen to?

Reyna stepped outside and slowly looked around. Four years at Camp Jupiter had shown her a lot. She learned about all kinds of mythological creatures and monsters. Even before Camp Jupiter, she had seen plenty of odd things. None of it prepared Reyna for what she saw now.

Reyna's eyes shot around, trying to make sense of everything. Her eyes focused on the oddest thing first, which was the naked woman standing on top of Jupiter's cabin. Reyna blinked a few times. Like many people, she could appreciate hot, naked women. If they were around Reyna's age, it was even better, so Reyna was in heaven for a split second.

Then, she realized that the woman was covered in blood, and fifty demigods were standing around a pillar and had their hands raised towards the woman, as if they were in Sunday church. The woman was singing, but it sounded like it was in another language. As Reyna focused on the words, the pain in her head increased.

Reyna took a step back into the cabin and closed the door. She rested her head against it. Obviously, she was having some kind of weird dream. This could also have been one big prank made by the Greeks. It was hilarious really. It was so hilarious that she was going to kick all of their asses.

After grabbing her sword, she opened the door and glanced outside. Fifty campers were still standing around the pillar and not moving. A few demigods were making some kind of stone base, and another naked woman stood by that stone base.

Reyna looked back at the woman on the pillar. Other than her skin looking like it hadn't seen sunlight in years, she seemed to be a normal mortal, if it wasn't for the whole demonic singing in another language. She had long, brown hair that cascaded down her back, and she was quite beautiful. The woman didn't look to be their age. She was probably in her mid twenties or thirties.

Reyna slowly stepped out cabin and looked around. She needed to find Chiron. The woman on the pillar had her eyes closed, and the one by the stone base seemed to be talking and directing demigods around. It looked like the demigods were under some kind of spell.

As Reyna turned to leave, a demigod walked right by her. Reyna had seen them a few times, but she didn't know their name. They walked past, holding onto a pile of wood. All Reyna could do was stare at their eyes. Their entire eye was a sea green color, like they were possessed.

Turning towards the Big House caused Reyna's gut to drop. On the roof, another naked woman was standing there and singing. Reyna kept her eyes on the ground and started to walk. She tried to think of what she could do. Going through the front door of the Big House wasn't an option, since the woman would see her. She would just have to go around.

Reyna walked past a cabin, and she heard a door open. She didn't turn, hoping no one would stop her and question her. A hand grabbed onto her shoulder, and she was suddenly thrown backwards into a cabin. Reyna barely managed to catch her balance, and she heard someone close the door.

A baseball bat flew towards Reyna's head, and she dodged the attack. Reyna grabbed her sword, but she froze as she saw the wild, beady eyes of her attacker. Reyna spoke, “Hedge?”

Hedge stared at her. He had his baseball bat half raised. His eyes were not green like the demigod she had saw. Hedge spoke, “How do I know you're not one of them?”

“It's me,” Reyna said. She released the death grip on her sword and slowly raised her hands. After a moment, Hedge lowered his bat. Reyna looked back at the door. “What in Bellona's name is going on? I woke with a headache, and there's naked women outside singing.”

“All of the campers are going crazy,” Hedge answered. He walked towards the door and peeked outside. “They all have green eyes and are praising the naked women. That singing is giving me a migraine, and I can't find the speakers. No one seemed to notice me.”

Reyna walked up behind Hedge and peeked out. She could see a few campers pulling off the wood of various cabins and carrying them towards the woman at the stone base. Some campers near her seemed to be building a sort of altar. Reyna spoke, “All of the campers are under a spell, but we aren't.”

“We're not Greeks either,” Hedge said. Reyna looked at him, and they both stepped backwards. Hedge closed the door. “The only singing I know about is that of the Sirens, but these aren't Sirens. They are suppose to make you see something that you heart desires, and we aren't even in water.”

“It could be the Muses, and this is some kind of prank,” Hedge continued. Reyna shook her head. This was going a little too far to be a prank. Reyna slowly looked around the cabin and sat down. There was four bunk beds, and a thin line of dust covered each of the beds. A statue of a hooded woman was in the back of the cabin, but there was a warm, homely feeling to the room. “Banshee. Those are a thing.”

“Why would only the Greeks be affected,” Reyna asked. She looked down. “Charmspeak?”

“I doubt Aphrodite wants to get that crazy,” Hedge muttered. He seemed to be lost in thought. Reyna looked at the statue again. “That's Hestia. Goddess of the hearth. She doesn't have any kids, but the cabin was made honorary.”

“Vesta,” Reyna whispered. She laid back on the bed and sighed. “We need a plan Hedge. Is there anyone else here who won't be affected by the magic? What about Chiron?”

“I haven't seen him,” Hedge replied. He seemed to think. “Most of the other satyrs are out looking for demigods. There is also the dryads and nymphs, but they won't be much help. I think we might be alone in this, Roman. Can you send a message to Camp Jupiter?”

“If we can get to a fountain,” Reyna said. She rubbed her chin. “If we try to attack the women, I think all of the campers will attack us. What caused all of this?”

Hedge shrugged and spoke, “Your guess is as good as mine. I can take a look around the camp to try and find anyone who isn't insane.”

“They might realize that you aren't under the spell. We can't risk that,” Reyna said. She slowly stood and started to pace back and forth. They needed to step back and make a plan. “Are there any satyrs in the camp? Is there anyone at all? What about Rachel?”

“I can check the forest,” Hedge said. Reyna nodded and opened the cabin door slightly. She watched the campers once again. Hedge walked up behind her. “We shouldn't stay in this cabin though. Someone is going to come inside sooner or later.”

“It looks pretty abandoned,” Reyna commented. Hedge shook his head and glanced up. Reyna did as well and saw part of the roof was missing. She swore. “Is there a cabin that they won't touch?”

“There might be one,” Hedge said. He gently pushed past Reyna and opened the door completely. After a moment, Reyna followed behind him. They slipped behind the cabin and passed behind a few more. Reyna gripped her sword, worried that someone would find them. Eventually, Hedge stopped at a cabin and ran around it. He slipped inside, and Reyna followed.

Reyna slowly looked around the cabin. This one had a few more bunks in it, and two of the beds were messy. Reyna glanced at the statue at the back of the cabin. The woman on the statue had a lopsided grin, and it looked like she was throwing a coin into the air. The coin looked like a Greek drachmae, and it was gold. Nothing kept the coin above the statue, and it seemed to be floating on air.

“That's Tyche, goddess of luck,” Hedge explained. “No one ever comes into this cabin, unless they absolutely have to. When you leave the cabin, you either have really good luck or really bad luck.”

“And, you want to hide here?” Reyna asked. She let out a soft curse and glanced outside the door. The cabin was further back than the others, but she still got a good view of the women and their altar. Hopefully, they wouldn't get a good view of her.

“With this going on, how much worse can our luck get?” Hedge asked. Reyna glanced back at him and reluctantly nodded. She closed the door and sat on one of the beds. “I'll see if I can find anyone in the forest. I'll also look in Rachel's cave.”

“I'll chance getting my things and try to scout this out from in here,” Reyna said. She rubbed her head. The other demigods couldn't see them, but something told her the three women would be able to spot them instantly. If they were singing, they had to be Sirens though, or were they something much worse? “Be safe, Hedge.”

“I will. You be safe too, Roman. Don't take more than ten minutes,” Hedge said. Reyna nodded and watched him step out of the cabin. She closed the door behind him and rubbed her forehead. Reyna didn't know how this could get any worse, but something told her that she would learn soon enough.


	8. Day Four: The Ragtag Group of Heroes

Even though Reyna knew that Hedge would be walking through the door at any moment, she still gripped her sword handle and expected the worst when the door opened. It took a moment for Hedge to practically fall inside the cabin. Another Faun, well Satyr, followed him inside.

The baggy hat covering the head of the Faun was the first thing that Reyna noticed. Her eyes trailed down to the brown hair and then brown eyes that belonged to the Faun who had decided to mock her name when they first met. Grover Underwood looked at her and spoke, “Reyna. It's a good thing you're here.”

“It's suppose to be my vacation,” Reyna said with a shrug. Another woman walked into the room. She had an elfish face and wispy hair. Reyna had seen her around a few times, especially near the forest. Grover spoke, “This is Juniper.”

“That's your girlfriend, right?” Reyna asked. She vaguely remembered seeing Grover and his girlfriend after the demigods united and put Gaea back in the dirt. Granted, Percy decided to introduce Reyna to literally everyone in the camp, so a lot of names and faces got mixed together, if she even remembered them at all. Reyna did remember Percy and Grove hugging each other for so long it was almost uncomfortable.

“My wife now, actually,” Grover said with a smile. Juniper kissed him on the cheek and closed the door behind her. Reyna sat back on the table and looked at the three people in front of her. Two Fauns and whatever Juniper was stood by her. It was all of them against every single camper at Camp Half-Blood. Reyna didn't like their chances.

Reyna looked down at the ground and at the backpack by her feet. All of her things had already been in the backpack, so it was just a matter of darting back to Athena's cabin, grabbing the backpack, and darting back to Tyche's cabin without any of the demigods seeing her. It didn't seem to matter though, as they were solely focused on building their altar.

“All of the other wood nymphs are keeping an eye on everything, but there's nothing we can do. I've seen those women,and magic just flows off of them,” Juniper reported. She studied Reyna. “You're not under their spell. How?”

“It affects those of Greek blood, and our Roman friend doesn't have to struggle with that,” Hedge said. He frowned. “We aren't either, but we're Greek creatures. I can't figure that one out.”

“Well, we are creatures and not demigods. We don't have the blood of the gods running through our veins,” Grover said. He looked at Reyna. “Why are you spared? I thought we fixed the gods and their split personality.”

“My mother doesn't have a Greek equivalent,” Reyna said with a shrug. “We don't even know what these creatures are.”

“They're Sirens,” Juniper said. Reyna glanced up at her. “I overheard them talking near my tree. The one who talked the most said that the Sirens will have their wish fulfilled. They just had to keep singing.”

“Sirens are not like that,” Reyna argued. “As far as I understand, they stay in the ocean, in the Sea of Monsters, and catch any sailors who come near. Their singing causes you to see what your heart desires most. They don't march on into Camp Half-Blood, start singing, and have the entire camp enthralled.”

“Well, it's happening now,” Hedge said. Reyna sighed and tried to think. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a handbook. It was the size of a hundred page novel and covered all of the monsters of the Roman world. She flipped to the page about Sirens and studied it.

Romans really weren't sailors, which mean there wasn't much about Sirens. The handbook stated that Sirens were found in the Sea of Monsters and caused sailors to see what their heart desired most, to draw them into the water. And, none of that information was going to help her now.

“We tried sending an Iris message earlier, but the coin just went through,” Grover said. He shook his head. “We're cut off and alone. What should we do?”

“They don't know that we are here, so we have the element of surprise. I say we find those Sirens and send them back to the ocean,” Hedge said. He lifted his club. Reyna shook her head and stared at the ground. There was no way they could just walk up to the Sirens, if that was even what they were, and take them out. The Sirens would have protection of all of the Greeks. They would need to reduce the protection.

“We need a war plan,” Reyna muttered. She leaned on the table and glanced down at the sword at her side. Her gaze moved back to Hedge. “We had one from Camp Jupiter.”

“War plan from Camp Jupiter?” Hedge asked. He paced around and looked at Reyna. “No offense, Roman. I just don't think that crazy little Oracle of yours came up with a plan that could even touch Camp Half-Blood.”

“An Augur,” Reyna corrected. “Oracles are always female. Never mind actually. Do you have a plan that doesn't involve rushing at the Sirens and hoping for the best?”

“I could throw my club at them,” Hedge replied. Reyna sighed and glared down at the ground. She waited for Hedge to turn his attention to Grover and get into a conversation with him. It sounded like Hedge was trying to sell his club throwing idea to his fellow Faun. Neither of them were looking at her, and Juniper seemed enthralled by Hedges' very extreme hand motions.

Reyna slowly grabbed her sword and slid it out of her sheathe. While it was true that all Romans were issued the same sword, it was only officers who received a sword that could turn into a javelin, and it was usually presented to them by their godly parent. Reyna was an exception, but that was a topic for another day. Jason's former sword allowed him to control lightning easier and even rest a reserve inside the sword itself. The praetor before Reyna had been able to just summon poisons onto his sword. Reyna's sword wasn't as cool, but it was much more practical.

She flipped the sword in her hands and watched it turn into a javelin. Reyna ran her thumb across the tip of the javelin, gently cutting into her skin. As her thumb started to trickle out blood, she ran the same thumb across the bottom of her javelin, making a full circle.

Reyna watched her blood form a thin line around the bottom of her javelin and instantly dry to it. She unscrewed the end of the javelin and pulled out a tightly bundled roll of papers. After putting it on the table and screwing the cap of her javelin back on, she wiped the blood from it. When Reyna was satisfied that the bottom of her javelin wouldn't go flying off anytime soon, she flipped the javelin back into a sword and slid it back into her sheath.

Reyna gently opened the bundle of papers on the table and spread out the papers. She studied the hand drawn map of Camp Half-Blood that was actually pretty accurate. Some buildings were out of place, but considering it was made just from the memory of words, she was proud of it. The rest of the papers detailed the amount of troops Camp Half-Blood would have, along with ways to hinder the camp.

“I didn't know Romans could pull paper out of thin air,” Hedge commented. Reyna glanced up and watched the three walk towards her. Hedge studied the paper. “It looks detailed. Was this that Oracle's plan?”

“Octavian couldn't even plan out war games properly,” Reyna answered. Her eyes studied her handwriting. Hedge slowly looked at her. His eyes narrowed. “I wouldn't be a proper Roman without a plan.”

“When did you make this?” Grover asked. Hedge crossed his arms angrily, like he was upset that Reyna made a plan to attack Camp Half-Blood. The Greeks struck first, even if they didn't mean to. Reyna wouldn't be a great praetor if she hadn't been thinking of her people first.

“The night before I agreed to help you,” Reyna said. She looked up at the two Fauns. “If we were going to war, there was no way I would allow Octavian to make a plan that would have killed more Romans than Greeks. It's in the past though. I only kept this as a precaution, but there is no way that anyone could have access to it. I promise that I haven't planned to invade Camp Half-Blood since.”

“Better not,” Hedge grumbled. He studied the papers. Reyna gave him a look. She finally rolled her eyes and focused down on the paper. “Got anything else to add to the plan?”

“Find Chiron and Rachel,” Reyna said. She crossed her arms. “Try to find out if these women are actually Sirens and where they came from. We should also cut off the armory, in case we are caught. The next thing would be medical supplies from the infirmary. Then, we try to isolate someone and see if we can snap them out of this.”

“I'll get my club ready,” Hedge said. Reyna exchanged a look with Juniper. She then focused back on the map and slowly started to add some of the cabins to it. Her hand suddenly froze. What if this wasn't isolated to Camp Half-Blood? What if Camp Jupiter was affected as well? “You okay, Roman?”

“I'm just worried that this isn't an isolated incident,” Reyna said. She closed her eyes. “We need someone to leave this camp and send a message to Camp Jupiter. Maybe, the Hunters of Diana are nearby.”

“I'll go,” Juniper volunteered. Grover looked like he wanted to argue, but Juniper grabbed his arm. “I'll take some of my berries with me, and I will be back as soon as possible.”

“Send a message to Thalia Grace of the Hunters of Diana. Then, send one to Frank Zhang of Camp Jupiter. Let them know what it going on,” Reyna ordered. Juniper nodded. Reyna noticed that both Fauns were paying attention to her, and she soon realized that she was the leader of this little ragtag group. She wasn't too surprised, but it felt odd that they were so willing to trust an outsider. “And stay safe, Juniper.”

“I will,” Juniper promised. Grover pulled her into a tight hug. Reyna slowly looked up at Hedge, and he nodded to her.

“I'll lock out the armor and make sure that none of our friends can get anymore pointy weapons,” Reyna said. “Can you get medical supplies from the infirmary?”

“How violent do you think this is going to get?” Hedge asked quietly. There was a serious look in his eyes.

“I don't know,” Reyna admitted. “But, I know that this situation has the potential to turn real bad really fast. I would rather we are prepared for the worst.”

“I guess it's good we have a praetor to guide us,” Hedge said. He glanced down at her backpack. “Do you have a book in there that tells you how to handle this kind of situation.”

“Actually, I do,” Reyna said. Hedge nodded and motioned for her to go on. “The handbook calls for all offenders, no matter how willing they were in the role, to be slaughtered. Everything in the area is to burned to the ground, and the earth will be salted. Personally, I don't feel like burning Camp Half-Blood to the ground, so I am going to ignore the handbook for now.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Hedge said. Reyna smiled slightly. She quickly lost her smile. There situation wasn't good at all. They had no clue what was going on, and there was no back up. The survival of Camp Half-Blood rested solely on their shoulders, and while Reyna knew her shoulders were very capable, she wasn't sure about the Fauns. Hedge slapped her back. “Just think about it Roman. Now, your vacation won't be boring.”


	9. Day Four: The Armory

“Who thought it was a good idea to give the Greeks a gun?” Reyna asked. She stared down at the pistol in her hand. It wasn't loaded, but there was a few magazines hanging near where the gun had been. Reyna grabbed one of the magazine and checked it. She then tossed the magazines into her bag but hung the gun back on the wall. The last thing she needed was for a possessed Greek to be running around with a gun.

Reyna slowly looked around the armory. She had already put on Greek armor, unfortunately having to take off that single Roman breastplate she was allowed to bring. Reyna had also grabbed two sets of armor for the Fauns and two clubs with bronze heads as well. A small dagger for Juniper rested on her hip.

Reyna also got a couple of goodies for herself. She threw two bags of arrows across her back and grabbed a bow. Reyna slung the bow across her back and felt the few swords that were along her belt. Despite the whole situation with the possible Sirens trying to take over Camp Half-Blood, Reyna was in a weapon filled heaven. She had to leave though.

A sad sigh left Reyna, and she walked towards the door of the armory. Reyna looked around to make sure there was no windows or gaps in the room. All she had to do now was figure out a way to destroy the door in a way that it wouldn't be able to be opened again. As she went to grab the door handle, it started to open. Reyna's eyes widen, and she slipped to the side. The door was opened halfway, and when it didn't open anymore, she hid behind it.

“We can melt these down,” Annabeth said. She stepped into the armory but thankfully didn't turn around. There was no emotion to her voice. One of the naked woman followed behind her. “We have forges we can melt these down in. It will make a good start.”

The naked woman hummed and slowly ran a hand through Annabeth's hair. Reyna stared for a few moments. The naked woman studied Annabeth almost like she was a pet, and it made Reyna's gut twist. Her hand slowly moved to her sword, but she hesitated. She didn't want to have to fight the woman and Annabeth.

Reyna's only real option was to leave. She slowly stepped out from behind the door. Considering she was armed to the teeth, she wasn't exactly going to be stealthy. Thankfully, the woman looked more focused on Annabeth.

Reyna hesitated once again and glanced behind her at the camp. She really debated just taking the woman out now and questioning her. There was plenty of tools to help her loosen the woman's tongue, but they were too close to the other Greeks. Annabeth would be an obstacle as well. Reyna bit back her curse and slowly walked backwards. The bow on her back hit the door, and the woman tensed.

Reyna quickly turned around and started to leave the armory. A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder, and a voice spoke, “What are you doing?”

“She said we could melt these down,” Reyna said. She kept her voice as monotone as possible but didn't turn her head. There was no way that she was going to look back at the woman, especially since her eyes would give her away.

“Then hurry up,” the woman ordered. She let go of Reyna. It took all of Reyna's willpower to keep from letting out a relieved sigh, and she started to walk. The woman spoke English, but she had an accent that almost sounded like the one that Circe spoke with, which meant she was Greek. That still didn't really help their situation though.

Reyna kept walking and finally risked looking back. She didn't see anyone at the door of the armory, which was good. Reyna kept walking and felt herself walk right into someone. She stumbled backwards and stared at the person. Leo stared back at her.

“Hey Reyna!” Leo yelled at the top of his lungs. Reyna stared at Leo. His eyes weren't green like everyone else. There was a grin on his face. “How is it going?”

Reyna placed her hand to Leo's mouth and dragged him towards a cabin. He stared at her and tried to pull away, but Reyna didn't let him. She shoved him into the cabin and turned as she closed the door. No one was looking at them. Reyna thanked the gods for that.

“Is something wrong?” Leo asked. Reyna turned and grabbed his shoulder. She placed a finger to her lips. Leo frowned and leaned in close. “Why is everyone acting weird?”

“They are under a spell of some kind,” Reyna said. Leo stared at her and blinked a few times. A frown came to his face. “We don't know what it is though, but I thought it only affected Greeks. You aren't affected though.”

“I cannot hear a word you are saying,” Leo said loudly. Reyna covered his mouth once again and gave him a glare. He just frowned at her, and the fact that Reyna's hand was over his mouth didn't deter him. “Why are you acting weird?”

“Can you hear me at all?” Reyna asked quietly. Leo just blinked a few times. Reyna swore and rubbed her eyes. On a regular day, Leo annoyed her. He ran from death and his duty during the war against Gaea, and he was also Leo. Everything about the boy rubbed Reyna the long way. Today, she was not in the mood for his games.

“I cannot hear a word you are saying,” Leo said again. Thankfully, he wasn't talking as loud as he had been. “I was testing some devices out in Bunker 9 and accidentally blew my eardrums out. Will keeps telling me to put on earplugs, but who has time for that when they have a scientific breakthrough? I should go see him.”

Reyna held a finger up in his face and looked around the cabin. She walked towards one of the shelves and grabbed notebook paper. Reyna wrote down what was happening and handed it to Leo. He stared down at the paper, and a grin slowly came to his face.

“I didn't know that you could make a joke. This is really good,” Leo said. Reyna glared at him angrily. After a moment, Leo frowned. “You're being serious, aren't you?”

Reyna nodded and sighed. She put another finger to her lips and motioned for Leo to follow. She opened the door and glanced out. Her gaze moved towards the statue that was still being made. The base looked like it was finished. It was ten feet long and about five feet tall. Nothing else had been started, but one of the naked woman was posing next to the base as she sang.

Reyna frowned. Annabeth said they could melt down the weapons in the armory, so were they going to use the melted weapons for a statue? Why would they want a statue in the first place? Reyna bit her lip and grabbed Leo's arm. They walked behind the cabin and started to move towards Tyche's cabin.

“I was told never to go there,” Leo whispered loudly. Reyna stopped walking and gave him an angry look. Leo winced and leaned in closer. “I heard that the cabin can give you really good or really bad luck.”

Reyna just nodded and glanced around. There was a line of demigods at the armory. As some walked out, they were carrying an arm full of weapons. That wasn't how Reyna planned on taking care of the weapons, but it worked. No one seemed to be paying attention to them, and Reyna pulled Leo into the cabin.

“What is he doing here?” Hedge demanded. Reyna turned and watched the coach raise his club. She threw the duffel bag full of armor on the ground and slowly pulled the bags of arrows off of her back. She sat down and sighed tiredly.

“Leo decided to deafen himself,” Reyna said. She rubbed her eyes. “He can't hear anything, and he's not under the spell.”

“So, you have to hear it,” Grover said. He was sitting in a bed and looked like a nervous wreck. Reyna glanced at the Faun. “It only affects those of Greek blood if they hear it, just like an actual Siren.”

“All we have to do is go to each and every camper and make sure they can't hear the singing anymore,” Hedge said. Reyna glanced at him. “We can knock them out with my club and then drag them here.”

“Hedge, that is a stupid idea,” Reyna said. She looked at the Faun. “We can't just start kidnapping campers and bringing them here. The Sirens, if these women even are Sirens, will notice.”

“Will they?” Hedge asked. Reyna opened her mouth to answer, but she slowly closed her mouth. Hedge did have a point. Other than Annabeth, she didn't see the women interact with anyone specifically. They just sang and ordered all of the campers around.

“If we start taking out all of the demigods, they will,” Reyna said. She crossed her arms. “If we only take out a few, they might not notice. We can grab a demigod and see how to free them from this song. The only question is who.”

“Whoever is closest?” Grover suggested. Reyna shook her head.

“I want to be smart about this,” Reyna muttered. She stood and started to pace. “If we are going to do this, we need the heavy hitters: Percy and Annabeth. Piper too. And Nico.”

“Only problem with that is incapacitating them,” Hedge said. He held out his club. “This whole camp is full of demigods who are listening to the orders of the Sirens. A fight or any other noise will be instantly noticed.”

“I can handle it,” Reyna said. “Did you get supplies from the infirmary?”

“The entire Big House has been locked down,” Hedge answered. He tapped his club against the ground. “All of the doors were locked, and I couldn't exactly fit in the windows. There was another one of those Sirens in the infirmary. She mentioned that she would start to get back to full strength as soon as her shrine was made.”

“That's why they're building that statue then,” Reyna said. She stopped pacing and looked at the Fauns. “Nectar will work on Leo's ear, but we should make sure that he can't hear the singing first. You two work on that. I'm going to the Big House.”

“They locked it down,” Hedge began. Reyna grabbed the bag of arrows and slung it across her back. She did the same with the bow and then took off all of the swords that were on her hip, other than her own. “Roman, what are you going to do?”

“Break into the Big House. If they locked it down, there has to be something important inside,” Reyna said. Leo looked at them and raised his hand.

“I have no clue what is going on,” Leo began. Grover grabbed a notebook and flipped through it. He started to write on it. Reyna checked herself over for weapons once again and nodded to herself. As she walked towards the door, someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Roman, be safe,” Hedge said. Reyna looked back at him. For once, Hedge looked dead serious. He also looked concerned. “Don't be overconfident.”

“I'm never overconfident,” Reyna argued. Hedge gave her a look, and Reyna returned it. “Hedge, I'll be fine. I promise. And, I will be back before you know it.”

“Just be safe,” Hedge repeated. Reyna nodded and bit back her sigh. She didn't know why Hedge was so worried about her. Hedge finally let go of her shoulder. Reyna gave him another nod and slowly opened the door of the cabin. She peeked out and looked around. When she was satisfied that no one would see her, she stepped out of the cabin. Reyna took a deep breath and started to walk towards the Big House.


	10. A Minor Inconvience

Finding an entrance into the Big House wasn't going as well as Reyna thought it would. The front door really was locked, because that was how her day was going apparently. All other entrances and windows were locked as well, other than the one in the attic. Climbing the four story building was a possibility, but it would attract attention if she did it from the easier front side.

Reyna slowly walked towards the window of the infirmary and tried to lift it again. It didn't budge, and she slowly looked around. The demigods were stripping all of the wood and metal off of the various cabins and slowly making their way towards the Big House as each cabin was completed. It was going quicker than Reyna was comfortable with.

Reyna studied the window of the infirmary. She had two options. The first was to use a weapon to bust open the window. That would certainly draw attention, especially if anyone was inside the building. Her other option was to scale the Big House. It would be just like those nights in Puerto Rico, trying to escape her father's wrath and just get away from everything.

It took Reyna a moment to make her decision. She walked towards the edge of the deck and climbed on top of the railing. Then, she grabbed onto the edge of the overhanging roof and pulled herself on top of it. Reyna slowly made it to her feet.

That was the easy part. The only thing she could climb on now was windows and loose pieces of the walls. As Reyna walked towards the window, she saw a shadow shift from inside. She moved to the side of the windows and closed her eyes tightly. After waiting a minute, Reyna opened her eyes and glanced inside the window. The shadow was still there.

Reyna risked a further look inside. She studied the shadow and frowned. It was oddly shaped and didn't look like a person. Reyna leaned further towards the window and stared inside. The room that she saw was void of any furniture. There was only a lone figure sitting there.

Reyna moved in front of the window completely and tried to open it. As she did, she stared at Chiron. The Centaur was sitting in his wheelchair, and his head was lolled forward. There was no bruises or visible injuries on him. His hands weren't bound as well.

“Chiron,” Reyna said. When Chiron didn't stir, she glanced around. Then, she gently knocked on the window. Chiron still didn't stir, so she knocked a little louder. When that didn't get a reaction, a curse left her.

The good news was that Chiron was alive and safe. The bad news was that he was sleeping, and there was no way it was a natural sleep. Was it poison or something more godly? Reyna heard a door below her open, and she laid on the roof. She crawled towards the edge and glanced down.

“One mortal,” a woman said. Her voice was heavily accented like the others, but she wasn't like the others. For one, she wasn't singing. This woman also wasn't naked. She wore a simple white dress. One hand toyed with black hair, and her eyes, blue like the sea, stared into the other woman. Something about her was familiar. “She lives in a cave.”

“We will send some of the worshipers to find her,” the other woman said. She was the one that Reyna had first seen singing on top of the Big House. “They are pledging their loyalty as we speak.”

“Good. We need that mortal,” the first woman said. She glanced up. Reyna almost threw herself backwards. Her heart raced, and she stared down at the roof tile. Had the woman seen her? “When that mortal pledges her loyalty, it will double my power.”

Reyna heard footsteps, and the voices of the two women faded. She slowly made it towards the edge of the roof and grabbed onto it. Reyna lowered herself and dropped to the ground. She rushed towards the door and tried to open it. A soft curse left her as it didn't budge.

Reyna stared down at the door handle. She could climb onto the Big House once again and make it to the window. What would she do from there though? The hidden thing inside the Big House had to be Chiron, and without knowing how to wake him up, there wasn't much she could do. The women also wanted Rachel, and did the Oracle even know what was coming her way?

It took half of a second for Reyna to make up her mind. She turned and darted from the Big House. Reyna broke into a steady jog as she made it into the forest. Her hand grabbed the notebook from her pocket, and she flipped through her homemade map.

Nico didn't show her where the cave was, and Reyna had only seen Rachel around the camp a few times. She hadn't been given a tour of the Oracle's cave, but she heard it was quiet homely. That information didn't help her at the moment though.

If it was a cave, it had to be towards the outside of the forest, right? But, Rachel was a mortal and couldn't really fight monsters, so would she have to pass through the forest? Would it be safer to have her closer to the camp? Was Reyna even going in the right direction?

Reyna came to a stop and took a few deep breaths to even out her breathing. She had no clue where the cave was, but the Fauns would be able to show her. Reyna just hated wasting time though. She turned and started to come back the way she had came. Before Reyna could make it too far, she heard a branch snap.

Reyna looked up and saw a flash of orange. She ducked behind a tree large enough to hide herself from view. There was only the sound of one pair of footsteps. Reyna placed a hand to her sword. She could try to knock this demigod out and then see if she could break them from the spell.

A glance around showed the items she had to work with. There was a few large branches scattered about, but a hit from those could easily result in a concussion. On her right, there was a small river that she could drown someone in, if it came to that.

As the person got closer, Reyna held her breath. The orange shirt passed by her, and she glanced out from the tree. There was no one else around. Reyna made one swift motion to step up behind the Greek demigod and wrap an arm around their neck. She quickly tried to cut off their air flow and kicked them in the back of their knee. They fell to their knees, and Reyna tightened her grip.

The demigod she was currently trying to strangle was male and muscular. He almost smelled like the sea, and a pen appeared in his hand. Reyna stared down at the pen for a few moments. What in Bellona's name was that, and why did it look so familiar? Reyna's answer came as the pen was flipped in the owner's hand and the cap was taken off.

Reyna shoved Percy away but was nowhere quick enough. As Percy's stupid pen transformed into a sword, it tore right Reyna's leg. She yelled in pain and fell to her knee. Reyna grabbed onto the sword hilt with one hand and made it to the feet with her other. She hobbled backwards and tried to ignore the searing pain in her leg.

The only good news about her situation was the fact that Percy was currently disarmed. His sword was stabbed directly into her lower leg. It wasn't in Percy's hands, so that was a very minor plus. That was the only plus, as she hobbled backwards and hit water.

“Percy, you really need to snap out of this,” Reyna began. She felt her leg give out on her, and she collapsed to a knee. Reyna stared down at the water and saw that it was slowly starting to move. Percy's shoes appeared in her vision. Reyna slowly looked up at Percy and stared up into his completely green eyes. “Percy.”

Percy knelt next to her and studied her for a few moments. He grabbed onto his sword hilt and started to pull it out of Reyna's leg. Reyna yelled in pain and grabbed onto his hand. If Percy was going to kill her, he would have been able to easily do it. Why wasn't he trying to kill her?

“Jackson,” Reyna hissed. She yelled as Percy pulled the sword out of her leg. She gripped her leg with both hands and tried to breath properly. Percy capped his sword, and it turned back into a pen. The bastard son of Neptune turned and started to walk away. It was like he had a one track mind.

The smart thing for Reyna to do would be to use her shirt to stop her leg from bleeding and then limp back to the others, but that is not what she did. Whether it was from pain or blood loss, Reyna had no clue, but she decided to grab onto Percy once again. Instead of trying to choke him out from behind, she grabbed him and slammed him into the ground.

Reyna practically collapsed onto Percy and dug her forearm into his neck. She forced his head under the water. Reyna knew that he would be able to breath underwater, but he wouldn't be able to do anything with a half crushed throat.

“You really need to snap out of this,” Reyna hissed. Water slowly started to move towards her, and she cursed angrily. Reyna pressed her forearm down more, and she felt a hand grip her wrist. After a moment, the grip loosened, and the hand gently tapped her forearm. Reyna slowly looked down at Percy. He stared up at her, and his eyes were clear. “Don't move.”

“What's going on?” Percy asked. His voice was muffled from the water. Reyna collapsed next to him and placed both hands to her leg. She hissed in anger and pain. “Reyna?”

Percy started to sit up, but Reyna spoke quickly, “Don't. You were under some kind of spell, but I think the water is muffling it. Don't move.”

“You need help,” Percy began. Reyna shook her head and scooted backwards. She obviously knew that she needed help, but the infirmary was locked down. They were at least a five minute walk, or in her case hobble, towards the cabins. There was no bandages on her, and unless Percy was going to pull some out of his empty head, she had to improvise.

“Percy, I cannot handle you going all crazy again and my leg,” Reyna said. She quickly cut off parts of her pant leg and held it against her wound. She forced her head against her knee and took a few deep breaths. Reyna held onto the makeshift bandage with one hand and used the other to reach into her backpack.

When Reyna didn't find Unicorn power, another curse escaped her. She focused on holding the bandages tightly to her wound. A new plan was needed, now, but all she could really do was focus on the pain. Reyna took a deep breath and slammed one fist into the the ground.

“Percy, stab yourself in the ear,” Reyna ordered. She could feel Percy's stare. “If you can't hear the song, it won't affect you.”

“I'm not stabbing myself in the ear,” Percy said. He looked down at himself and seemed to think about it. “Do you have any wax in your backpack.”

“Yes Percy. I just keep a candle in my backpack for fun,” Reyna snapped. She could feel blood starting to leak through her makeshift bandages. Since Percy wanted to be a baby and not destroy his eardrums, she wasn't quite sure what to do from here. Bleeding out wasn't an option, and walking would cause her to lose more blood.

Reyna heard a branch snap. She cursed and grabbed her sword. Reyna slowly got to her feet and hobbled backwards. She tried to keep her balance on one foot. Juniper stepped out of the treeline, and Reyna collapsed to her knees in relief. She gripped her leg and slowly rolled onto her back.

“What happened?” Juniper asked. She knelt by Reyna and stared at her leg. Her gaze then moved to Percy. Juniper finally pressed both of her hands to Reyna's leg.

“Percy stabbed me,” Reyna answered. “I'm losing more blood than I want to. We need to get out of here, but I don't know how to move Percy.”

“Help Reyna first,” Percy said. He laid his head back against the riverbank. “I can just chill right here.”

“I know some nature magic. Try not to move and keep pressure on your wound,” Juniper ordered. She started to gather a few leaves, and at that moment, Reyna knew she was screwed. She held the makeshift bandages tightly and tried to get rid of the small knot in her stomach. “It's going to be okay.”

Reyna just closed her eyes. It wasn't even the fact that she was probably going to die from bleeding out. How was a pen going to be her downfall? Reyna took a deep breath. Juniper wouldn't let her die, probably. Things would be fine. She just needed to relax and take solace in the fact that she had freed Percy from the spell. That was one demigod down and gods knew how many more to go.


	11. Day Four: Stuck in Neutral

“Who needs an infirmary when you have cabin of doctors?” Reyna asked. She laid her head back against the pillow and sighed tiredly. Percy gave her a look, and she returned it. “This is your fault, Jackson. Just focus on bandaging the wound that you made.”

“It was self defense, and I wasn't in control of myself,” Percy said. Reyna didn't respond and just closed her eyes for a few moments. Lucky for her, Juniper was actually really good with nature magic. Juniper managed to stop the bleeding and dull most of the pain. Hopefully, the flowers and dirt that she used wouldn't give Reyna an infection to worry about later.

Juniper also had some weird black concoction in her pocket that acted like wax, but Reyna was pretty sure it was dead bugs that had congealed together. After putting that in Percy's ear, it seemed to muffle the song. Percy and Juniper had helped her hobble back to the cabin. While Hedge was busy lecturing Reyna, Juniper replaced the weird dead bug gel with actual wax.

“I told you to be safe, Roman,” Hedge scolded. He sat next to Reyna and stared down at her like a worried mother hen. Reyna rolled her eyes. She didn't need a round two to that lecture. It wasn't even Reyna's fault. Percy and his stupid pen were to be blamed.

“Again, it is Percy's fault,” Reyna argued. She tried to relax herself. It was Percy's actually smart idea to find bandages and medicine in Apollo's cabin. Grover was the one who had retrieved it, after he spent five minutes asking if Juniper was okay.

As for Juniper's attempts to send messages, she hadn't even been able to get close to leaving the camp. When she started to make her way through the forest, she found a few groups of demigods that were harassing Dryads. They threatened to do terrible things to the Dryads if they found them outside of their tree. Juniper turned immediately around and headed back towards the cabin, until she heard Reyna's yell of pain.

“You're lucky that Juniper was nearby,” Hedge said, and he crossed his arms. Reyna remained silent. This was the third time that he had said that. Reyna understand that she was very lucky that the sword didn't go any higher and that Juniper was fleeing for her life. Maybe, the cabin was giving her good luck.

“Reyna needs to rest and not be yelled at,” Juniper interrupted. She slowly sat on one of the beds, and Grover sat next to her. Juniper leaned on Grover. “What do we do from here?”

“Do you remember anything?” Reyna asked. She glanced at Percy. The son of Neptune finished her bandage and then sat on the ground near Reyna. “Anything that can help us?”

“My last clear memory is going to bed the night before. Then, I was underwater with you telling me to snap out of it,” Percy answered. He looked down. “I have no clue what I did in between. I can't remember, and I can still hear some of the song, even with the wax in. They want us to worship them and fill their every desire.”

“We still have no idea what to do then,” Reyna said. She slowly sat up and looked down at her bandaged leg. She could walk, and she would have to walk. This wasn't something that she was going to stay on the sidelines for. “I found Chiron. He is in some kind of sleep or stasis. I don't know how to wake him.”

“So, these Sirens managed to sneak into camp in the middle of the night, and in the morning, we're under their control. How?” Percy asked. A silence filled the cabin as no one had an answer. Reyna stared down at the ground. Four women, and it seemed like they were going with the Siren theory, had managed to take control of the camp. It was impressive.

Honest to the gods, Reyna was impressed. A small group managed to take out a much bigger one with no losses, and they were almost going to get away with it. Before Reyna sent them back to Tartarus, she would ask how they did it. For now, she had to figure out how to get to the Sirens.

“They also want Rachel. I was trying to find her before I ran into Percy, but I don't know where she is,” Reyna said. She slowly tried to stand, and Percy grabbed her arm.

“Just relax for now,” Percy said. He looked at Hedge. “Do you think that you can find Rachel and make sure she is safe. Try to get her out of the camp and somewhere safe.”

“Of course I can do that,” Hedge said, and he puffed out his chest. Hedge stood and grabbed his club. “Now, can I hurt any of the demigods if I run into them.?

Percy looked away for a few moments and slowly stood. He gently grabbed the club and pushed it towards the ground. Percy spoke, “Maybe, Grover should find Rachel. We might need you here in case a demigod finds us. Reyna has to rest.”

“I'm not resting,” Reyna said. She slowly stood, despite the protests from everyone. Reyna slowly put pressure on her injured leg, which immediately turned into a bad idea. She bit back her cry of pain and hobbled towards a wall. Reyna casually leaned against it and lifted her leg to get pressure off of it. “I'm perfectly fine.”

“Why don't you walk towards Leo then?” Percy asked. Reyna stared Percy down. The son of Neptune just motioned towards Leo. There was a solid six feet between the two of them. Leo was sitting in a corner of the cabin and playing with some pieces of metal and wires. “If you're fine, that should be an easy walk.”

“Why would I walk towards Leo when I am perfectly fine here?” Reyna asked. She could feel her eyes starting to narrow. Percy grinned. “Jackson, I have an idea. Instead of annoying me, all of us could make a plan on how to save your camp.”

Percy's grin instantly disappeared. He looked down at the ground. Reyna slowly looked up at the ceiling. Why was everyone so sensitive? All she was doing was stating facts. Instead of bothering her about her injury, they should have been making a plan. Was she going to have to apologize to Percy? Was he actually offended by what she said?

“I'm sorry,” Reyna said after a few moments. She crossed her arms. “I guess I shouldn't be upset that you're concerned about me. We really should focus on how to save the camp though. Do you have any ideas?”

“I should go find Rachel,” Grover said. Juniper grabbed his hand and gave him a concerned look. Reyna glanced at the ground. What they really needed to do was strike at the heart of the problem, but there was still the concern of all of the campers trying to murder them and use their blood to paint the altar.

“Be safe,” Reyna said. She studied Grover and Juniper. Could she really ask this of a Faun? Hedge had helped her and Nico deliver the statue, but all of the others Fauns that she had met were, well, useless. Reyna didn't know if Grover was really up for this.

“I will be safe,” Grover said. He kissed Juniper's cheek and walked towards the cabin door. “I can't believe that I wish Tyson was here.”

“Tyson? The Cyclops?” Reyna asked. Percy nodded and walked towards Grover. He said a few words quietly, and a small grin came to Grover's face. The two exchanged a rather long hug, and Grover left the cabin.

“My half brother. He was visiting, but he went back to help in my father's forge,” Percy answered. Reyna nodded slightly and hobbled back toward the bed. She sat down on it and laid back on the bed. Walking really wasn't a good idea at the moment, even though she wouldn't admit it out loud.

Reyna sighed and closed her eyes for a few moments. She spoke, “Isn't there a god at this camp?”

“Dionysus did come back after we defeated dirt face, but he took a break this week. I think he mentioned something about a Pac-Man tournament that was happening this week,” Percy answered. He looked at the cabin door. “We need to find Annabeth and break her from this spell.”

“That might be easier said than done,” Reyna muttered. She sighed tiredly. “When I saw Annabeth, one of the Sirens was all over her. Percy, did you do anything to upset any Sirens?”

“No,” Percy answered. He looked at her and crossed his arms. “Why are you blaming me?”

“I thought that everything that went wrong was your fault somehow,” Reyna said. Percy glared at her, and Reyna grinned. “Hedge, am I wrong?”

“You're right,” Hedge agreed. Reyna nodded. Of course, she was always right, and the Greeks would sooner or later come to learn that. “I have an idea on who we should try to free next though. It's someone who we can use to try and snap the others out of this spell.”

“Let's hear it,” Reyna said. She wasn't quite sure who it was, but she trusted Hedge. He couldn't have the worst idea in the world, and with Percy's help, it should be relatively easy. She hoped.


	12. Day Four: Fighting FIre With Fire

Reyna knew she had said it plenty of times, but it was still important to state how much she just hated children of Venus. All of them were terrible, in many different ways. Reyna thought she had seen the worst that the children of Venus had to offer. Until, a child of Venus just had to absolutely wipe the floor with Reyna and one of, if not the, most powerful demigod at Camp Half-Blood. Oh, and Hedge as well.

“Guys, I am so sorry,” Piper said for the fifth time in the last minute. She stared at them and then slowly looked down at the dented and blood stained makeup case that she held. “I wasn't thinking straight. When Percy grabbed me, this voice just told me to hurt you guys.”

“Well, you accomplished that,” Reyna muttered. She placed both hands to her broken nose and felt her black eye. Who taught Piper to fight so well, and who added twenty pounds of weight to a makeup case? Hedge handed Reyna an ice pack, and Reyna buried her face in it.

“I'm really proud of you, Piper,” Percy said. He hissed in pain. “All that training is really paying off. My only advice is to not get distracted when you are fighting multiple people. You were so busy beating me to death with the case that Hedge was able to disarm you.”

“I don't think Annabeth would be too happy if Percy got all of the seaweed knocked out of him,” Hedge commented. Reyna moved the ice enough to see out of her uninjured eye. Hedge was laying a giant ice pack on Percy's back. There was a small freezer hidden in the corner of the cabin that was full of ice packs. Apparently, one of the children of Venus was allergic to pretty much all of the chemicals in perfume, and they constantly swelled or broke out into hives. Instead of being normal and not using perfume, the other children of Venus just stocked up on ice packs

Reyna closed her eyes for a few moments and heard Hedge grabbing an ice pack for himself. Out of all of them, Hedge escaped mostly unscathed. A broken finger or two wasn't going to stop him.

“What exactly is going on?” Piper asked, motioning to the earplugs. Reyna buried her face in the ice again and bit back a groan. “I remember bits and pieces of everything. Were we building something?”

“You were building an altar,” Reyna answered. She lowered the ice and wiped some of the blood from her nose. She studied the droplets of blood on her hand. “When I woke up this morning, all of the Greeks were under a spell of some sorts. Sirens have taken over your camp.”

“Sirens,” Piper repeated. She slowly sat down. Reyna placed her face back into the ice pack. Hedge's brilliant plan was to find Piper and try to break her from the spell. From there, Piper could, hypothetically, use her charmspeak to free the rest of the Greeks. Would the charmspeak work against the Siren's song? Reyna wasn't sure, but for Hedge's sake, it better.

“There was a woman, maybe the leader, that called all of you worshipers. She said that all of you were pledging loyalty, which I guess gives her power. We don't really know what to do from here,” Reyna admitted.

“Annabeth hasn't thought of a plan yet?” Piper asked. Percy looked away. A small frown came to Reyna's face, but she shook her head slightly. “Annabeth is still under their control? Who is free?”

“Roman and I were never under their control,” Hedge answered. He moved to the door of the cabin and glanced out. For some reason, the Greeks were not touching the cabin, and Reyna didn't know how she missed that. Most of the original twelve cabins had been stripped of decorations, but no one had touched Venus' cabin. What made it different?

Reyna hoped to investigate the cabin and find answers. All she found was the overpowering stench of perfume and more makeup than anyone would ever need. Her investigation was cut short when Percy carried Piper into the room. Piper was as limp as a sack of potatoes, and when Hedge followed behind holding onto his club sheepishly, Reyna knew what he had done.

Percy had laid Piper on the ground, while Reyna lectured to Hedge about not bashing in the skulls of demigods. Percy, for some reason, tried to jump to Hedge's defense. It took all of Reyna's self control to not yell at the two for being absolute idiots.

Percy told her that they had tried to talk Piper into coming with them, but Piper had been so focused on her task of trying to remove some of the stone floor from the dinner pavilion. Since she was the only demigod around, Hedge decided to hit her in the back of the head with his club. That story did nothing to make Reyna feel better, especially since the two had to carry an unconscious Piper halfway across the camp.

Thank the gods that no one seemed to have noticed them. The spell that the demigods were under seemed to have them keep a one track mind, and the Sirens were so focused on singing that they didn't notice anything around them. Maybe, the cabin they were staying in had decided to just give them all of the good luck that it had withheld from others.

Reyna's lecture was short lived though. When she heard Piper groan and turned towards her to check on her, a make up case slammed into her face. The shock of being hit was definitely the reason she fell backwards and didn't move for a few moments. It was not from pain or anything else.

Percy and Hedge, henceforth known as the two idiots, managed to subdue Piper. Now, they were all sitting inside of Venus' cabin. Reyna blinked and realized that someone was talking to her. She focused back in on reality and looked up at Piper.

“Who else is free from their control?” Piper asked. She was studying Reyna, almost like she was concerned about her. Reyna wasn't sure why though.

“The three of us, Juniper, Grover, and Leo. All of the other demigods are still under the control of the Sirens. Chiron is trapped in the Big House, but he is also in some kind of sleep or stasis. We're not sure where Rachel is, but Grover is trying to find her. The Sirens want her, so she can pledge loyalty,” Reyna answered.

“And, we don't have a solid plan,” Piper assumed. Reyna nodded her agreement and lowered her face back into the ice pack. “This is what we do best though, isn't it? We make it up as we go along.”

“I have a plan,” Hedge interrupted. “Piper, you can use charmspeak to free the demigods from the Siren control.”

“I don't know if it will work,” Piper began. Reyna lowered the ice pack again and threw it into a small trash bin. She slowly stood and hobbled forward. Reyna was tired of sitting around and trying to think of what to do. They needed to act quickly.

The Sirens had some kind of plan that involved the altar they were making, and it had something to do with the demigods pledging loyalty to them. Reyna didn't know how long it was going to take, and she didn't know what the next step for the Sirens would be. She did know that they could not let it get that far. They had to sabotage the altar somehow.

“Do you have explosives?” Reyna asked. The two idiots and Piper quickly looked at her. “I'm tired of sitting around. The best defense is offense, so we need to go on the offensive. Percy, do you think you can convince Annabeth to follow you. From there, we can have Piper use charmspeak.”

“I think I can,” Percy answered. He slowly stood from the ground and did his best to keep the ice pack pressed against his back. “I don't know if just my voice will be enough to snap her out of this long enough for her to follow me, but I can just say we have a new task from the Sirens.”

“Bring her back here,” Reyna said. She glanced at Piper. “Try to use your charmspeak to free Annabeth. If that doesn't work, you two will just have to force wax in her ears and hope she doesn't murder you before you can. Now, do you have explosives?”

“Leo will,” Piper slowly answered. Reyna nodded. “Why do you need explosives though?”

“I'm going to blow up that altar,” Reyna answered. Piper remained silent and just studied her. Reyna slowly glanced down at herself. She looked normal, other than the fact that one of her pant legs had been cut away to show the bandage tightly wrapped around her leg. That must have been what Piper looked concerned about. “Percy's fault. You can yell at him later.”

“Isn't blowing up the altar going to be loud and attract a lot of attention?” Hedge interrupted. Reyna nodded her agreement.

“That's why you're going to take Juniper to another safe area. We need to get away from the main body of the camp,” Reyna answered. She hobbled towards the door. “We'll plan this out when we are all back in the cabin. We will wait long enough for Grover to get back and then get moving.”

“I don't really think it's the best idea to create an explosion in the middle of the camp, especially if the demigods are actively building that altar,” Percy said. Reyna glanced at him. She knew that she couldn't just shrug off that concern.

“I'll make sure that no one will get caught in the crossfire,” Reyna promised. Percy studied her for a few moments, like he didn't believe her. Reyna just kept her face neutral. She wasn't upset that Percy was worried. If a Greek walked inside her camp and said they wanted to set up an explosive inside, Reyna would have them escorted out immediately.

“Percy, I am not going to let a Greek get hurt. I promise you,” Reyna said, and she met Percy's eyes. He slowly nodded. “I just need a distraction to break into the Big House and try to wake Chiron.”

“I trust you,” Percy said after a few moments. Reyna didn't really appreciate the hesitation, but she would take the vote of confidence. “Are you sure you can do this with your leg though?”

“I'll be fine,” Reyna said. She looked around the room. “We all have to work together and trust each other during this. Please understand that I will treat the Greeks just like I would treat my own campers.”

“That's what worries me,” Percy admitted. Reyna studied him for a few moments. He just stared directly into her eyes. “I've seen how cold Romans can be, and I don't want my friends to be caught in any of the crossfire.”

“They won't,” Reyna said. She bit back an angry sigh. They couldn't argue about something as dumb as Percy's wrong opinion. If they started to fight over the small things, they wouldn't be able to stick together through this. All Reyna needed was for the Greeks to listen to her and trust her. If they could do that, she could help save their camp.


	13. Day Four: Strange Revelations

Their plan was simple, so Reyna expected it to go wrong at any moment. Her and Leo had gone to retrieve Leo's stash of explosives from Bunker 9. Grover and Juniper also went to the bunker, and they were going to make Bunker 9 their new base. Leo had given each of them little canisters of fire that they could use to open the front door, even if Reyna wasn't quite sure that it would work.

Finding Rachel had been a dead end. Her cave was empty, and there was no sign that she had been there that day. The demigods also still seemed to be searching, so there was one bright side. Hopefully, Rachel had left the camp the day before and not told anyone. If the Oracle was out of the equation, that would make their lives easier.

Reyna slowly glanced out from behind the cabin that she was hiding behind. She had spent the last few minutes observing the demigods that were building the altar. They acted like a hive mind. All of them moved to one cabin, took as much stuff as they could carry, and then go in two different directions. Some would drop their items off at the altar and go back to the cabin for more. Others would head straight to the forge. A few demigods had been attaching items, to the altar, but now, they had moved away.

The demigods also moved in a group as well, like ants. As the group that was dropping things off at the altar turned their backs and started to walk away, Reyna looked around to make sure that no one else was watching. She darted towards the altar and stopped behind it. Reyna stared down at the two explosives in her hand.

It was made by Leo, but it actually looked like a professional made it. The casing around the bomb was celestial bronze, and when Leo had been explaining it, he said that he could force the explosion to mostly come out of one side, and that was the side she was going to put against the altar. The explosive was remotely detonated, and the detonator was hanging from Reyna's belt. She was being very careful not to brush it against anything.

Reyna grabbed duct tape from her backpack and used it to stick the explosive to the base of the altar. Then, she climbed on top of the altar's base and stuck the explosive up as high on the statue as she could. When she was sure that they were secured, she turned and darted back towards the cabin that she had been hiding behind.

There was only one Siren singing, and she stood on the middle most cabin. Reyna wasn't sure if there was a range to the singing, but if there was, they could exploit that. Reyna glanced back out to make sure that the singing Siren hadn't seen her, but the Siren wasn't looking in her direction. Step one of their side of the plan was complete.

Step two would be happening in two more minutes, and it would be courtesy of Leo. He was going to let off what he called a sound bomb at the far end of the camp. It would attract the Sirens and hopefully the demigods. When Reyna asked why they couldn't use the so called sound bomb inside the main body of the camp, Leo told her that it could cause permanent brain damage or worse.

After Leo set off his sound bomb, Reyna would make sure no one was near the altar when she set off the bomb for that. It would announce their presence, but that was why they had moved to Bunker 9. Apparently, the Sirens already had a few demigods search the bunker, so they wouldn't check it again.

Reyna ducked around the side of the cabin and darted between the cabins. As she got closer to the cabin with the Siren, she slowed her pace and carefully walked past the cabin. Her headache started to get worse, but she just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not giving away that she was there.

As Reyna passed by the cabin that the Siren stood on, she glanced up. She could just climb the cabin and take out the Siren in the impending chaos of the explosion. Reyna stopped outside the cabin and then looked down. Percy had made her swear to check on Chiron immediately, and she would keep her promise, even if her gut told her different.

Reyna slowly made it away from the cabin and picked up her pace. Each step caused small pain to shoot through her leg, but she just had to ignore it. The nectar had done enough to dull the pain and close the worst of the wound, so she just needed to focus on anything but the fact that the pain came back with each step.

As Reyna made it towards the Big House, she came to a sudden stop. The infirmary door was open. There was no way she was that lucky. Was this actually happening? A grin came to Reyna's face, she slowly walked towards the infirmary door. After looking left and right to make sure that no one was watching, Reyna stepped into the infirmary.

The first thing she did was grab a few bandages and stick them into her bag. She also grabbed a few things of nectar and ambrosia. Reyna let out a deep sigh. Her luck was actually holding up. Things were going well.

Reyna glanced to her right. There was a door that led into the rest of the Big House. If Chiron's door was locked, she could just pick the lock. Waking him would be a more complicated matter, but she would figure it out. A small grin came to Reyna's face. These Sirens were no match for her.

Reyna heard a door close, and she quickly turned around. A curse almost left her as she saw two of the Sirens standing in front of a closed door. She tried to look away from the Sirens, but her gaze just stayed focused on the two naked women in front of her.

It took all of Reyna's willpower to slowly looked away from the two very hot, very naked women in front of her. She moved her eyes to the side. It was becoming hard to think, as most of her attention was on not looking at the Sirens, but what would be the harm in looking? Reyna could admire the view in front of her and then get back to whatever it was that she was doing.

Besides, when was the last time that Reyna really got to act on her feelings? She did with Jason, and everyone saw how that turned out. For now, Reyna was content in just appreciating every hot man or woman that came into her view, and there was a lot about these women to appreciate.

Reyna slowly looked at the woman on the left. Then, she looked at the one on the right. One of them started talking to her, but Reyna didn't understand the language. It did cause her head to ache in pain, and a very loud noise from somewhere in the distance caused her head to hurt more as well. Reyna blinked in pain. She needed to get away from the voice and find Chiron.

The Siren stopped talking and frowned. She walked towards Reyna. It took a moment for Reyna to step backwards. Her hand started to move towards her sword, but after a moment, it fell away. Her attention stayed focused on the woman in front of her. She didn't even notice the other Siren walk behind her and whisper softly in that odd language.

The Siren in front of Reyna spoke and gently placed a hand to Reyna's face. Reyna tried to step backwards, but the Siren suddenly kissed her. It took a few moments for Reyna to realize that she was being kissed. It wasn't her first kiss, but something about this was just intoxicating.

Reyna finally returned the kiss. She felt the Sirens hands slip up her shirt and then trail down her body. Reyna felt the Siren press her against the wall, and she heard her sword hitting the ground a moment later, but that just made it easier to reach everywhere. Right?

When the Siren pulled away slightly, she whispered something. Reyna blinked in confusion and tried to understand what the Siren had said. Wait. Why was she even listening to the Siren? She had to find Chiron. The Siren kissed Reyna once again, and her mind went completely blank.

There was a clear language barrier between the two, but Reyna didn't really care. She didn't need to be able to translate to understand that things were about to get a lot more physical, in a very good way. The Siren pulled Reyna towards a bed and pinned her to it.

The Siren gently ran her hand across Reyna's neck. Then, she ran her hand down Reyna's body. Reyna pulled away and took a few deep breaths. This woman was one of the most beautiful that she had ever seen. Maybe, she wasn't a Siren. A Siren couldn't be this amazing.

As Reyna was kissed once again, she felt her mind turn off. The only thing she wanted to do was fulfill every single wish that the woman had. As the woman grabbed onto her belt buckle, her arm seemed to hit something. A loud explosion snapped Reyna back to reality.

Reyna shoved the woman away from her and tried to sit up. The woman slammed her back onto the bed and kissed her much more roughly this time. Reyna tried to focus on the loud noise, the explosion. Why was there an explosion? Her focus slipped away once again as a hand slipped into her pants.

As the woman deepened the kiss once again, Reyna heard the sound of a door opening. Someone appeared over Reyna, and the woman yelled in pain. As the woman was thrown off of Reyna, everything became much clearer. Reyna took a few deep breaths and slowly sat up.

“Reyna,” Piper said. Reyna stared up at her and tried to process what had happened. She could still taste the woman on her lips. Hell, she still wanted to kiss the woman. What was wrong with Reyna? “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” Reyna began, and she felt her cheeks starting to redden. Piper studied her for a few moments and then looked down at the Siren. There was a dagger buried deep in the woman's back, and it should have gone straight into her heart. Why hadn't she turned into monster dust? Reyna stared at the blood that fell from the wound. Maybe, they were wrong about the women being Sirens, but how were they doing all of this?

“You don't look fine,” Piper began. She offered her hand. Reyna just shook her head and stood. Her mind was full of questions, and she felt completely thrown off by what happened. It took a moment to grab her fallen sword. Reyna tried to fix her belt and then her shirt. She was beyond angry at herself and almost shaking from it.

How could she just allow the Siren to manipulate her like that? They didn't even speak the same language, yet Reyna had just allowed the Siren to distract her from what she had been doing. Reyna felt completely embarrassed about what had happened.

“Reyna, it's just like charmspeak. You can't control it,” Piper began. Reyna glared at her and swallowed painfully. Piper held up her hands. “Just calm down.”

“I'm fine, Piper. We should focus on hiding the body and figuring out what we're going to do,” Reyna muttered. Piper studied her for a few moments and shook her head. “Piper, we really don't have time to discuss this.”

“You shouldn't blame yourself,” Piper said. She walked towards Reyna and grabbed her arm. “It's not your fault that you couldn't fight their charm.”

“Piper,” Reyna snapped. She turned the daughter of Venus. Why was Piper even there anyway? “Can you just focus?”

Piper stared at Reyna for a few moments. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she shoved Reyna to the side. Reyna fell backwards, and she watched a dagger sink deeply into Piper's chest. For a few moments, all Reyna could do was stare. The dagger would have gone right through her back of her neck.

Reyna made it to her feet. The Siren turned towards her and swung the dagger. Reyna caught the Siren's attack and slipped behind her. She started to choke the Siren, but the sight of Piper's blood caused her anger and rage to boil over, and she snapped the Siren's neck like it was a twig.

Reyna threw the Siren to the ground. Then, she rushed to Piper's side. A slew of curses left Reyna's mouth, and she grabbed a towel from the counter. Reyna pressed it against Piper's chest and tried to keep her calm.

Thanks the gods that the dagger had not gone into Piper's heart. Reyna still needed to act quickly though. She stared down at Piper and debated removing the dagger. It would let her close the wound, but she would also have to stop the bleeding.

“Just hang on, Piper. Please just hang on,” Reyna said. She kept pressure on the wound. “You're going to be fine.”

“Freaking out isn't going to help,” Piper wheezed, but there was a small grin on her face. Reyna looked down at Piper and stared. How could she even find any humor in this situation? This was all Reyna's fault. Piper took the blade for her. Reyna needed to calm down.

Reyna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She put more pressure on the wound. Piper slowly placed her own hands to the wound and nodded. Reyna moved away and grabbed bandages. She quickly wrapped the bandages around the wound and stood.

Reyna heard the popping of bones, and she slowly turned to look at the dead women. She stared as the Siren's neck visibly healed and straightened. Reyna swore once again and picked Piper up. She slammed into the door leading outside and took off running.

Out of all the things Reyna would claim to be, a genius was not one of them. She was great at war and battle strategies, but sometimes, she didn't apply her brain to simple situations or equations. Like the equation of an injured leg plus trying to carry a demigod equaled a lot of pain and inability to run properly.

Reyna made it a full twenty feet away before she stopped running. She took a few pained breaths, hit her leg once, and then continued to hobble forward. Piper spoke, “I can probably walk.”

“Just be quiet and save your strength,” Reyna muttered. She continued to walk. “You're hurt, and I don't need you to hurt yourself anymore than you already have.”

“Do you want me to wipe off the lipstick still on your lips?” Piper teased. Reyna stopped walking and took deep breath. She continued to walk. Piper's teasing was not gong to get to her. “Your face is really red.”

“Exertion from having to carry you,” Reyna muttered. She just tried to focus on walking. Reyna was embarrassed about the Sirens just trapping her in their influence, and she blamed herself for Piper getting stabbed. “Is the wound still bleeding?”

“I don't think it is. I'll be okay,” Piper promised. Reyna stopped walking and slowly helped Piper sit against the tree. As soon as Piper was sitting against the tree, Reyna promptly collapsed against the tree as well. Reyna slowly slid down the tree and into a sitting position.

“I couldn't even understand what she said, but her words acted like charmspeak,” Reyna said. She had been around Circe on her island enough to know exactly what it felt like. “As soon as she kissed me, everything just went blank I couldn't remember what I was doing.”

“Don't blame yourself,” Piper said. Reyna shook her head and just stared at the dirt. This was her fault, but she would blame herself when they were somewhere safe. Reyna slowly stood and helped Piper get to her feet.

“Let's get back to the bunker,” Reyna said. She gently picked Piper up again and started to walk. This had not gone well at all. Even if she did manage to set off the explosion and not hurt any of the Greeks in the process, the Sirens still saw her and Piper. They would know who to look for. Oh, there was also the fact that the Siren didn't die. How was that possible? “How did it go with Annabeth?”

“We couldn't find her,” Piper replied. “I thought I could help you with Chiron. Instead, I found the Sirens with you. What's our plan now?”

“I don't know,” Reyna admitted. “I was suppose to have Chiron freed by now, and I was hoping that he would know how to solve this situation. I really don't know.”

“We can all figure it out,” Piper said. Reyna glanced down at her and nodded. Piper's face was starting to pale. Reyna increased her pace but was careful to make sure that none of her movements would jolt Piper.

“We will,” Reyna muttered, but she wasn't too happy at herself. If Piper hadn't of found her in the infirmary, Reyna didn't know what would have happened. She would either had told the Sirens everything, or she would be under their spell. Reyna wasn't quite sure which one scared her more. “Let's just get back to the bunker first.”


	14. Day ?: The Mastermind

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Reyna asked. She pushed past another tree and sighed tiredly. The adrenaline had mostly left her, which meant Piper was getting a lot heavier on her shoulders, and the pain in her leg had come back full force. Currently, they were trying to figure out exactly where Bunker 9 was.

Reyna was paying attention when Leo led her towards the bunker, just not to Leo. Someone had to make sure that they weren't ambushed by anyone and that no one saw their new hiding spot. So, Reyna really didn't know where she needed to go, and she was relying on Piper to guide her. Piper wasn't being too helpful though.

“It is. Just keep going,” Piper answered. Reyna gritted her teeth and stepped around another tree. She froze as she heard a voice. Reyna slipped behind a tree and did her best to glance out. A frown came to her face as she saw someone standing in front of the entrance to Bunker 9.

“Annabeth,” Reyna whispered. She ducked behind the tree again and slowly laid Piper on the ground. “You stay here. I'm going to free Annabeth from their spell.”

“I can try charmspeak,” Piper began. Reyna shook her head and handed the small vial of fire to Piper. “Reyna, you can't do this by yourself.”

“Save your strength,” Reyna whispered. She glanced behind the tree, but Annabeth didn't seem to notice them. Her gaze was fully on Bunker 9. “I'm just going to take Annabeth out as quick as I can. In case anything happens, get in the bunker.”

Reyna stood and slowly moved out from behind the tree. Her gaze stayed focused on Annabeth. Why was Annabeth away from the Sirens and studying Bunker 9? Was she sent to scout it out? Reyna kept one eye on the ground to make sure she didn't step on anything and alert Annabeth.

As Reyna made it behind Annabeth, she held her breath and wrapped one arm around Annabeth's throat. She kicked Annabeth in the back of her knee and saw that Annabeth was moving her hand to her thigh. Reyna grabbed Annabeth's hand. They were not going to have a repeat of Percy and his stupid pen.

“Annabeth, I am really sorry for any broken bones you end up with,” Reyna said. She felt Annabeth's other hand trying to pry her arm away, but Reyna just tightened her grip. Reyna heard a branch snap behind her, and she swore. Before she could pull away, someone grabbed her by her armor straps.

Reyna was thrown backwards into a tree, and her head bounced hard off of it. A fist slammed into her mouth, knocking her back into the tree. The wooden shaft of a spear pressed into her throat and pinned her to the tree.

“Clarisse,” Reyna choked out. Clarisse's spear, which had a large amount of tape wrapped around the middle, was forced against her jugular and choking the life out of her. Reyna's eyes shot around for Piper, but it looked like she had managed to slip away.

Reyna slowly looked at Clarisse. The daughter of Mars stared back with those green, possessed eyes. Annabeth joined Clarisse's side and grabbed Reyna's sword. She quickly stripped Reyna of all visible weapons and nodded to Clarisse.

Reyna hoped that Clarisse would pull the spear away, since Reyna was disarmed. Instead, the spear pressed even more into her throat. Everything was quickly going dark. Annabeth spoke, “Why would you interrupt the worship, and how did you resist the calling?”

Reyna knew that she couldn't answer the question and waste the precious oxygen that she had left. Her hands desperately grabbed onto the spear pressed into her throat, and she tried to push it away. Clarisse didn't let her, and Reyna found that the breath had completely left her.

Panic started to build in Reyna's chest. It didn't seem like Clarisse was going to pull away, and Reyna was going to pass out soon. She just didn't know if Clarisse would pull away before permanent damage, or worse, was done. Reyna's hand slowly fell from the spear. Her eyes closed, and the world faded away.

Reyna's eyes snapped open, and she quickly looked around. Her eyes slowly moved around to look at her surroundings. This was not Camp Half-Blood, so where was she? Reyna slowly stood and looked around. There was tents all squeezed into what looked like a small alley, and it was packed with people. They all wore modern clothes, but they weren't speaking English, Latin, or Spanish.

As someone walked through Reyna, she tensed. This was a dream. It was just a dream, and she needed to calm down. Unless this was some kind of strange punishment before Pluto took her, she was alive and just dreaming. Hopefully, Clarisse had finally pulled away and was no longer trying to kill her.

Two more people walked through Reyna, and she tensed once again. She then looked at the two to glare, but her heart almost stopped. The person on the right was wearing a jacket and pants. Her hood was thrown over her head, but Reyna would recognize the two knives on her belt anywhere. Hylla glanced behind her, as if she could sense that Reyna was seeing this.

The other person standing next to Hylla sent a shiver of fear down Reyna's spine. His face was covered in dirt and grime, as was his clothes. If Reyna could smell anything, she knew her senses would be assaulted by alcohol. Blackbeard wore a leather coat, and his cutlass hung at his side.

“Keep yer mouth shut,” Blackbeard said. Hylla glanced at him and nodded. Reyna frowned and slowly followed the two. There was a few missions that Hylla had gone on with Blackbeard. Once Hylla had proved her worth, she had become invaluable to Blackbeard, until he thought Hylla was going to take over his ship.

Blackbeard walked down the alley, shoving people out of the way as he went. Hylla followed behind and was careful not to bump into anyone. Reyna followed the two through the winding alleyway, until it led out into a large street. Reyna looked around at all of the buildings, and Blackbeard made his way towards a building that had a small canal around it.

The building had pillars at the front entrance, and a few women were outside cleaning the pillars. Blackbeard pushed past the women and walked inside the building. Hylla took a deep breath and followed behind. Reyna let out a shaky breath and followed behind as well.

Why was she having this dream? She needed to be awake. It didn't matter what happened to her, but Piper was hurt and defenseless. If Annabeth or Clarisse found her, nothing good would come from it. Reyna stopped walking and tried to think of Camp Jupiter. When that didn't work, she thought of the Garden of Bacchus. Her dream didn't shift, and Reyna opened her eyes. She would just have to play along.

Reyna stepped inside the building, and she realized it was a temple. Reyna looked around at the sea blue tiles on the ground that almost looked like water. After a few moments, she realized there was water running below it. A few fish were in the water as well.

There was a statue in the middle of the temple, and it almost looked familiar. The statue was of a woman holding a trident. She wore a cloak over what looked like Greek armor. The trident that rested in her hand was covered in something red that was actively dripping onto the ground, and there was a ladder near the statue. The altar had writing around it

Reyna shook her head and hurried to catch up to her sister and the pirate bastard. They were approaching a throne at the far end of the temple. A woman was sitting on the throne. She wore a simple white gown. Her blue eyes studied Hylla for a very long moment, and a frown came to her face as she saw Blackbeard. One hand toyed with her black hair. She looked familiar as well.

“My lady,” Blackbeard said. He sauntered towards the woman and bowed. Two men, maybe servants, stood by the throne. They both eyed Blackbeard wearily and looked nervous. “I need ye blessing to cross the Sea of Monsters.”

“Edward Teach,” the woman said. She glanced at one of the men and nodded. The man quickly ran away. When he came back, he was holding onto a bundle of grapes. The man, definitely a servant, fed a grape to the women. “You know that I do not tolerate men who enter my lands without my permission.”

“I have plenty to offer,” Blackbeard said. “Young maidens on the ship. Freshly plucked, desperate for a home, and easy to manipulate. They are all yours.”

Hylla visibly tensed, but she remained silent. The woman noticed it, and her frown deepened. Blackbeard spoke, “Do ye take my offer?”

The woman laughed. She spoke, “I do not deal with flesh anymore.”

“Just the flesh of men,” Blackbeard interrupted. The woman smiled coldly and didn't say a word. “Yes or no.”

“I don't want your young girls,” the woman answered. Her eyes focused on Hylla again. “But, there is something you can do to earn a safe passage into the Sea of Monsters. There is a black box that I want. It holds three very important items.”

“Long ago, a man robbed my temple of that very important box and fled on his ship. I never found him, but I do know that his ship sank,” the woman continued. She ate another grape. “Grab the files.”

The other servant turned and ran as fast as he could. The woman spoke, “I will give you all of the information I have on his last position. Return the box to me, and you will have safe passage. It is a black box with gold writing around it.”

“I will return it,” Blackbeard vowed. The servant came back with a cardboard box that looked like it was filled to the brim with papers. He held it out, and Blackbeard motioned with his head. After a few moments, Hylla took the box. Reyna glanced inside the box. It was full of notebooks and maps.

“You know what happens if you double cross me,” the woman warned. Blackbeard looked at her and smiled coldly. Reyna just stared down at the contents of the box and at one paper in particular. It had a drawing of a black box with gold writing around it. The box was the same one that Reyna found in the sunken ship. It was the same one that this woman wanted, and it was also the same one that Clarisse had brought back to Camp Half-Blood.

Reyna's eyes snapped open, and she immediately starting coughing. Thanks to the pain in her throat, she knew that she was awake. There was a rope wrapped tightly around her chest, keeping her pinned to a chair. Her arms were tied behind her and the chair as well.

Reyna slowly looked around the room she was in. Wooden walls were around her, and there was nothing else in the room. It looked too small to be a cabin, unless they were really shafting a minor god. Reyna tried to shift in the ropes, but she was expertly tied, clearly Annabeth's work.

The door in front of Reyna opened, and she slowly looked up. Her eyes focused on the woman that stood at the door. It was the same woman from her dream, but Reyna felt like that wasn't the only place she had seen the woman before.

“Who are you?” the woman asked. Reyna didn't respond. She just stared ahead. The woman was going to have to torture her for information. “Are you hurt?”

When Reyna didn't answer her, the woman just sighed. She left the room. As she came back in, Reyna tensed and waited to see what weapon the woman have. A frown came to her face as she saw a chair. The woman placed the chair down and sat across from Reyna.

“You're not Greek,” the woman stated. Reyna glared at her. “That is what the daughter of Athena told me. She also told me you were hard to convince, but I think I can convince you.”

“Convince me of what?” Reyna asked. Her throat ached, and she coughed miserably. The woman frowned once again.

“That the Greeks are evil,” the woman answered. She closed her eyes for a few moments. “You must think that my three heroes and I are monster, but we are not. The Greek gods are, and they must pay. Before I untie you, I want you to hear me out.”

Reyna looked at the ground. If she could somehow convince this woman that she would listen to her and if the woman freed her, Reyna could figure out how to permanently kill these Sirens or women or whatever in Bellona's name they were. Reyna spoke, “Tell me who you are.”

“I will tell you my name, after you tell me yours,” the woman said. Reyna frowned. From the dream, it seemed like this woman was some kind of royalty, and she acted like it. Reyna didn't know, and she really didn't care. Somehow, she would take this woman down.

Reyna didn't answer. The woman stared at her, and Reyna stared back. A couple minutes, or probably just a few seconds, of staring passed. Reyna realized that the woman wouldn't continue without her answering, and Reyna really needed to get out of there.

For a few moments, Reyna debated using a fake name, but if Annabeth was telling the woman things about her, this was probably just a test to see if Reyna was trustworthy or not. Reyna finally spoke, “My name is Reyna.”

“My name is Brizo,” the woman answered. She smiled sadly and looked away. It seemed like she was lost in thought for a few moments. “I hope you will listen to my story and keep an open mind. This tale is a tragic one, and by the end of it, I think you will understand how evil the Greeks are and why all of them must die.”


	15. Day ?: Intoxicating Gaze

“Murder all the Greeks,” Reyna repeated. She stared at the crazy woman in front of her. Why couldn't she face off against someone who didn't want to murder her or her friends? It was really getting old at this point, especially since Reyna knew this wasn't her fault. She was just going to have to clean up the mess that someone else created.

The whole thing didn't make sense to Reyna. If this Brizo wanted to kill all of the Greeks, why didn't she just kill all of the Greeks? They were under her spell. They were building her little group an altar. Brizo just had to tell the Greeks to slit their necks, and the problem was solved. The woman was lying to Reyna, or she wasn't telling the full truth.

“Why?” Reyna asked. She knew it was best to play dumb and try to figure out more information. Her eyes studied Brizo. The only thing Brizo did was study her back. There was a kindness in her eyes, and her tone had been gentle. “Who are those other women you are with? They are not normal.”

“Do you mean the one that you tried to kill?” Brizo asked. Reyna remained silent. “It is okay. I understand it was in self defense. They should not have approached you how they did or manipulate you that way. I am sure that you have a handsome young man waiting for you back home.”

“Not really,” Reyna muttered. She thought back to the two women in the infirmary. They were insanely hot, but she almost couldn't remember what they looked like. What was happening to her?

“A beautiful lady?” Brizo asked. Reyna quickly looked away. She wasn't going to reveal to Brizo that she wasn't dating anyone. Why were they even having this conversation? Reyna tried to focus. “No one then? That is a shame. You seem like you would be quite the, what do they call it, catch.”

Reyna stared at the ground. Brizo wasn't using charmspeak, and her pull wasn't like that of the other women. There was just something comforting about her though, an Reyna felt like she was talking to a friend more than her crazy captor. Reyna needed to focus.

“I'm not dating anyone, and I don't see how that tells me anything else about why the Greeks should die,” Reyna said coldly. Brizo studied her for a few moments. Reyna studied her back. Brizo was well built, tanned, muscular, and well, hot. Reyna was so screwed.

“I understand,” Brizo said. Her eyes studied Reyna for a long moment. “My heroes are not demigods like you. No, they are beings of a powerful creator. They are Sirens, but they are not like the ones that you may have heard about in the stories.”

So, the Greeks were right about the women being Sirens. Why weren't they in the water though? Why didn't the one who got stabbed die? None of it made sense to Reyna. The praetor spoke, “You're not making any sense.”

Brizo nodded and gently placed her hand to Reyna's face. Her skin was cold, but Reyna could feel how hot her cheek was against the cold hand. Brizo seemed like she was only a few years older than Reyna. Brizo slowly lowered her hand and pulled her chair closer to Reyna's.

“My three Sirens have not always been monsters. There was a time when they were just like you, full of promise and oh so young. They had a very bright future ahead of them, but they did not live in a place or time that was kind to them,” Brizo began. She was only a few inches from Reyna's face and staring directly into Reyna's eyes.

Reyna was absolutely entranced by Brizo. She slowly nodded, and Brizo spoke, “These three women knew each other since they were children. They all had dreams of being great, of being heroes. That was all destroyed when one by one they were all sold off to their husbands.”

“Sold off?” Reyna asked quietly. Brizo nodded and placed her hand to Reyna's face. She ran her thumb across the bruises and small cuts on Reyna's face. “Like slaves?”

“Like bargaining chips. That is how they were treated, like property,” Brizo said. She flashed a dagger, but Reyna didn't tense. She felt the rope fall away,from her wrists and she slowly brought her hands in front of her. Reyna rubbed her wrists, but she didn't look away from Brizo.

“These men were monsters,” Brizo whispered. Anger filled her voice for a moment, and Reyna blinked. Her hands were free. She could make a move. Two hands gently grabbed her wrists. When Brizo spoke again, her voice was much calmer. “I am sure that you know all about monsters.”

Reyna nodded and stared down at Brizo's hand. What was she going to do? Brizo continued, “Those men took their wives and abused them. They would beat them senseless every week, and they always took advantage of these poor women. Unspeakable horrors were inflicted upon the three women.”

“They begged their husbands for mercy, but those men had no mercy in their souls. Neighbors turned a blind eye, so the women looked somewhere divine. They prayed to all of the Greek gods, and every single god ignored them,” Brizo whispered. “Those women did everything they could do for mercy.”

“These women went to every temple, active and abandoned, to find mercy. They made all kinds of offering and sacrifices. Up on their mighty thrones, the gods did nothing. Those gods just watched the mortal ants scurry around and scatter for the crumbs of mercy that they were given,” Brizo whispered. “But, those three women found a long abandoned temple, one that didn't seem like it belonged to an Olympian. They prayed to the power there.”

Reyna nodded slightly. She was so captivated by this women in front of her, and she felt for those women. To be treated as nothing more than property was not something that Reyna wanted to imagine, but she almost could. Her father had tried to control Hylla and her, to keep them safe from the enemy that only he could see.

“This power heard them, and it mourned for them,” Brizo whispered. “This power was alone, kicked out of their domain by another man: an Olympian. It took those women weeks of sneaking out to clean and restore that temple to what it use to be centuries ago.”

“Have you heard of gods fading?” Brizo asked. Reyna nodded slightly. “Then, you know there comes a point when an immortal just loses the desire to be alive. They feel the power within them draining, and there is nothing for them to do besides fade away. The power was so close to having this happen to them, but a resurrection happened as the women respected and restored that temple.”

“Brought back from the edge of the void, the power helped these women escape their masters, and they fled to a small island called Delos,” Brizo continued. “The woman continued to honor this power, but everything comes to ruin. Soldiers, pawn of the men, found these women.”

“Dragged back to their original village, my three heroes were humiliated and tortured. I can't bear to repeat the horrors,” Brizo said. There was such raw grief in her voice that it sent a shiver down Reyna's spine. Tears filled Brizo's eyes. “One of my brave heroes tried to defend the other two, and they were all deemed to be more trouble than they were worth. All three of the women were crippled in different ways and cast out onto a small boat.”

“What happened to them?” Reyna questioned. She slowly reached up and wiped the tears from Brizo's eyes.

“Cast out to to sea with no supplies,” Brizo answered. “The power tried to help, but the Olympians would not have any more interference. What hypocrisy. The Olympians help anyone that they like, but all others are treated like lepers. It has always been true.”

“Those three women died a terrible, slow death out at sea. Their last words were a plea to the power for revenge,” Brizo said, and a cruel smile came to her face. “Revenge for the abuse faced at the hands of their husbands. Revenge for how the gods abandoned them and allowed them to die. They thought that someone close to the gods should suffer just like they did. Who is closer to the gods than their own children?”

“No one,” Reyna answered quietly. Her heart broke for those women. All they wanted was a chance to get away from their situation, but the gods wouldn't let them. “If they died and were mortals, how are they here?”

“The power created them,” Brizo whispered. She smiled. “I created them. I went against the words of the gods and found their bodies. I cut their hearts right out of their chest and soaked it in a very powerful type of blood. They were created, in the image of Sirens. Do you know how Sirens were originally made?”

“Not really,” Reyna answered. Brizo smiled and kissed her cheek. Reyna almost shivered at the gentle touch. She stared into Brizo's eyes.

“They were friends of Persephone, and when she was kidnapped. Demeter made them into birds to let them help in the search. When they were unsuccessful, they went to an island and settled there. I'm sure you know all about the island, but you do not know everything about their powers,” Brizo whispered.

“The Sirens rely on a calling,” Brizo continued in the quietest voice possible. Reyna had to strain to hear, and her attention was fully on Brizo. “It's a deep calling within everyone. It involves their dreams and desires. My Sirens are fueled by their desires, and they see what everyone wants. Their song is reserved only for Greeks, and it plays only on their dreams and desires. They think they are building a ladder to their greatness, but they are just building the pit they will lie in.”

“Reyna, will you pledge your loyalty to me?” Brizo asked. Reyna studied the woman in front of her for a very long moment. The story of the three women was tragic, but did all of the Greeks really have to die? Reyna frowned, and Brizo gently cupped her face. “I'm sorry. That is an unfair question. Let me ask you a simpler one. Who is helping you?”

“There's a few,” Reyna answered. She stared right into Brizo's eyes. It felt so easy to get lost in them. “You won't hurt them, will you?”

“Of course not,” Brizo answered. She leaned in closer to Reyna, leaving no space between their lips. “I would never hurt those you care about, and I would never hurt you.”

“Gleeson Hedge. He's a Faun,” Reyna whispered. A frown came to Brizo's face, and she pulled away. Reyna blinked. What was she doing? Reyna glanced down and tried to move her hands. Brizo quickly grabbed her wrist.

“Faun?” Brizo whispered. Reyna found herself getting lost in Brizo's eyes again. “I've never heard that name.”

“The Greeks call them Satyrs,” Reyna answered after a few moments. What was the harm in telling Brizo the truth? After all, she promised to protect Reyna's friends. Brizo had to know who they were to protect them. “Gleeson Hedge and Grover Underwood are the two Fauns. Juniper is something. A Nymph or something. I don't really know.”

“That's okay,” Brizo whispered. She pulled Reyna to her feet and kissed her gently. Reyna slowly kissed her back and felt her knees go weak. This was better than the Sirens. It was better than the one time she kissed Jason. Brizo pulled away slightly. “Who else?”

“Three of the Greeks,” Reyna whispered quietly. She felt Brizo push her into the wall. This woman was absolutely intoxicating, and the only thing Reyna wanted to do was make sure Brizo was happy. Reyna blinked and slowly looked away from Brizo.

It didn't take long for Brizo to gently grab her jaw and make her look forward. Reyna could feel herself getting lost in those eyes. Brizo was like a drug, and she had Reyna wrapped right around her finger. Reyna needed to divert Brizo's attention, somehow.

“Wait,” Reyna whispered. She closed her eyes. If she didn't look into those eyes, she wouldn't be lost in them. It was like being at sea. “How can I make you happy?”

“Just look at me and tell me about the Greeks,” Brizo answered. Reyna bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Brizo. “I can sense that you just want to have the weight that you feel off of your shoulders. I can do that for you, but I have to trust you first.”

“I'll do whatever it takes,” Reyna answered. She looked down at Brizo's waist, which made it easier to look away from her eyes but also made it harder to focus. Brizo grabbed her face again. Reyna bit back a curse and kissed the woman. She deepened the kiss as much as she could, until Brizo pushed her away.

The space between them allowed Reyna to breath and think properly. All she really wanted to do was kiss Brizo once again and then do a lot more than just kissing. But, Reyna really needed to get out of there before she fell under the spell once again.

“I thought you wanted to,” Reyna began. She looked away and tried to pretend that she was embarrassed. Reyna's eyes shot around for the dagger that had fallen to the ground when Brizo cut the ropes from around her wrist. Brizo sighed and gently grabbed Reyna's face.

“I do, after I have your loyalty,” Brizo whispered. Reyna stared down at the dagger and slowly nodded. If she looked up again, she was going to be lost in those eyes permanently. Reyna had to act. Now.

Reyna reached down and grabbed the dagger from the ground. She slashed upwards. Brizo stumbled backwards and placed both hands to her neck. Reyna took a deep breath and found herself able to think. A grin came to her face as she saw that Brizo was bleeding. The grin was quickly lost as she saw golden ichor, the blood of the gods, fall to the ground.

Reyna took a step backwards. Ancient laws stated that an immortal couldn't attack a demigod unless they were challenged or attacked first. Reyna just attacked an immortal, so she was in a lot of trouble. The praetor let out a curse in Latin and rushed towards the door. When she turned the handle, she found it was locked.

“I may have been a little rash,” Reyna began. She turned towards Brizo and saw a fist flying at her head. Reyna ducked underneath it and heard the wood above her break. Reyna scrambled away from the crazy goddess and looked around the room. There was the two chairs, rope, and the dagger in her hand. Reyna had no choice but to fight.

“I hate the Greeks too,” Reyna continued. She backed into the wall and watched Brizo rip her fist out of the door. Reyna glanced to her right and saw a window near her. She hadn't notice it before, so it must have been at her back. Her eyes moved to the chair and then back to the window. It looked like she was two stories up, but with a lot of luck, she could survive the fall without anything important broken. “We can work together.”

“No. You broke from my spell, so I have to handle you,” Brizo said. Reyna gripped the dagger in her hand and tried to calm her racing heart. “When you are subdued, I will carry out my plan.”

“Make another stupid altar with Greeks as your slaves. Great idea,” Reyna said. She studied Brizo, and the goddess glared. Reyna almost grinned. This would be like another Senate meeting, one where she was trying to throw off the person she was arguing against. “You're an idiot.”

Reyna's plan was simple. Anger the goddess and learn her plan. Oh, also avoid getting her face punched in. It would be fine. Reyna spoke, “You talk about wanting to get revenge, but you don't even know how to do that. Altars aren't going to get you anywhere.”

“They are swearing their loyalty to me, so I can rebuild my power,” Brizo snapped. Reyna let out a chuckle. It only seemed to irritate the goddess more. “When all of the demigods swear their loyalty to me and when I am done with them, I will have them killed. We will carve our story into them and leave them as monument to the sins of the gods.”

“That's the stupidest plan I have ever heard,” Reyna said. Brizo glared and moved faster than Reyna could follow. Reyna threw herself to the side and scrambled for a chair. She grabbed it and turned to hit Brizo with it. Brizo's fist slammed into the chair and destroyed it.

Reyna dropped the chair and desperately swung the dagger. Brizo caught Reyna's wrist. Her other hand grabbed Reyna by her shirt. Brizo spoke, “You have a lot of pride, demigod.”

“Are you going to tell me that pride leads to a fall?” Reyna asked. Brizo studied her, and a cruel smile came to her face. Reyna glared, and Brizo's eyes moved to the side. Reyna followed her look and stared at the window. “We can really talk this out.”

“Tell me the names of the three Greeks that you are working with,” Brizo said. Reyna remained silent. Her eyes moved to the window, and she swallowed painfully. “Tell me. Now.”

“No,” Reyna said. Brizo studied her for a very long moment. There was no more kindness in her eyes. Reyna was no longer lost in them. There was nothing intoxicating about the goddess. Brizo closed her eyes and nodded. Then, she slammed her head into Reyna's.

There was a brief moment where Reyna lost consciousness. When she came to, Brizo had lifted her up like she was a small child. Brizo spoke, “Last chance. Tell me what I want to know.”

“Your altar looked pretty stupid,” Reyna answered. Brizo studied her and glared. Reyna tried to kick at the goddess, but it was no use. There was a scary rage in the goddess' eyes, and maybe, the praetor's plan wasn't such a smart one after all. Brizo said something in Ancient Greek. Then, she threw Reyna out of the window.


	16. Day ?: A Bit of Blood

The first thing Reyna felt was pain. It enveloped all of her senses and caused a pathetic groan to escape her. Reyna slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ground. She was sitting in a chair and could feel that rope was tied around her chest. Her arms felt free this time, but her right arm and shoulder were on fire.

As the events of the last few days slowly came back to her, Reyna groaned again. This was quite possibly the worst vacation ever, and really, it was all the Senate's fault. They were the ones who forced Reyna to go to Camp Half-Blood. She could be back at her home making sure nothing burned down. Instead, she was stuck trying to save all of the Greeks from being destroyed by a crazy goddess.

Another groan of pain left her, and she slowly looked around the room. There was a table next to her, and a black box rested on the table. It was the same one from her dream and the same one that Clarisse had found. 

An attempt to shift caused Reyna to groan in pain. Everything in her body absolutely hurt, and it felt like she had been thrown from a building, which she had. Reyna tried to clench her fist, and pain tore through her shoulder. Reyna barely resisted the urge to yell, and she took deep, ragged breaths.

The door opened, and Brizo stepped into the room. Reyna slowly looked up at goddess. Any kindness or sense of care was gone from Brizo. There was a cold look on her face. Annabeth followed behind Brizo, and she stopped in front of Reyna.

“I never did get to finish my story,” Brizo said. She walked towards Reyna and grabbed her face. The only thing Reyna could do was stare up at her. Moving any part of her body hurt, and she realized that she had small cuts all over her legs and arms, probably from being thrown through the glass. It really couldn't get any worse at that point.

“I don't care,” Reyna wheezed. Brizo tightened the grip on Reyna's jaw. “Annabeth, you have to snap out of this. Please.”

“She won't be able to break out from their influence,” Brizo taunted. She leaned in closer. “I brought those three women back as Sirens. They went on to terrorize the men who ruined their lives. That little city state they lived in was razed to the ground by the time we were done, but all good things had to come to an end. Poseidon sent one of his children to destroy them.”

“They were locked away in this black box,” Brizo continued. She placed her other hand to the box but did not let go of Reyna's face. “They were taken from me, and I was punished terribly. A pirate stole my box from the place that the gods hid it, and his damned ship was sunken by a monster.”

“When I escaped my punishment, I enlisted a pirate and another girl who looks just like you to find it,” Brizo said. She smiled. “I learned that it was your sister, and from there, it wasn't hard to talk to some of the dream and sleep gods. You showed me exactly where the ship was, and that daughter of war retrieved it for me. You all played right into my hand.”

“If you're going to keep bragging, can you just deafen me first?” Reyna asked. Brizo studied her for a long moment. Then, the back of a hand slammed into Reyna's face. Her head snapped to the side, and she cried out in pain.

“Who are the three Greeks that are helping you?” Brizo asked. Reyna stared at the ground and refused to respond. The back of Brizo's hand slammed into her cheek once again. The force of the backhand knocked Reyna senseless for a few moments. “Tell me.”

“You're a goddess. You've been alive forever, but you can't be more inventive?” Reyna asked. A third backhand knocked blood right out of her mouth. It hurt like hell, but Reyna just grinned. “Has anyone told you that you hit like a child?”

Brizo stared at her for a very long moment. Then, she kicked Reyna right in the chest. The force of the kick slammed Reyna into the ground, and she yelled in pain. All of her bravado left her, and she struggled to breath normally.

A weak, pathetic cry left Reyna. She wanted to curl up in a small ball, but the chair kept her trapped. Reyna struggled to form any words, and she could feel how badly her hands were shaking.

“Who is working with you?” Brizo yelled. Reyna closed her eyes and tried to think of any name that wasn't actually someone working with her. Brizo grabbed her shirt. “We can drop you again.”

“Clarisse,” Reyna wheezed. The grip disappeared from her shirt, and she let out a few wheezes of pain. “That's who is helping me.”

“Who is that?” Brizo asked. She stood and looked at Annabeth. Reyna closed her eyes and tried to relax. The pain was making it hard to think, but she needed a really good excuse behind her lie. If she wasn't careful, she was going to get thrown from the Big House again.

“She is the one who helped me bring Reyna in,” Annabeth answered. Her tone was weird. It was emotionless, but it wasn't like the other Greeks. Or, Reyna was just losing her mind. It took Reyna a moment to move her left hand to feel her right shoulder and collarbone. She tensed as the movement confirmed her bones were broken, and it confirmed she was in trouble.

“You lie,” Brizo stated. She knelt by Reyna and forced her knee into her chest. Reyna could feel a crack or two in her ribs. This day was just getting worse by the second. “Tell me the truth.”

“Clarisse helped,” Reyna wheezed. She weakly scratched at Brizo's hand. “We freed her not long before she brought me in. She pretended to still be under your control. We were trying to get close to you and destroy you.”

Brizo remained silent for a few moments. Then, she stood and picked the chair up. Reyna bit back another cry of pain from the movement. She closed her eyes and felt Brizo place the chair back on the ground. Reyna tensed and waited for another kick. This one would break her, and she would throw Percy under the bus. Or Leo. Both annoyed her equally.

“I will ask Clarisse myself. If I find out you are lying, you will regret it,” Brizo warned. She stood and grabbed Reyna's right arm. “Your blood is going to be the first spilled. You are going to power my Sirens. Hold her arm.”

Annabeth walked towards Reyna and held tightly onto her outstretched arm. Reyna hissed in pain and stared at the ground. It almost felt like Annabeth's hands were shaking, or Reyna was just shaking from the pain. Brizo opened her black box and set it on the ground, underneath Reyna's hand.

“It always takes a sacrifice,” Brizo whispered. She held a dagger out towards Annabeth. After a moment, Annabeth grabbed the dagger. “Cut into her wrist and collect the blood in my box. Bring me the box when it is full. Make sure she doesn't bleed out before I get my answer.”

“If you wanted my blood, you could have just asked for it,” Reyna said. She spat blood at Brizo. The back of a hand slammed into her face once again, and Reyna was left stunned and disoriented. A hand grabbed her face and forced her to look up.

“Demigod blood is required to keep them alive,” Brizo answered. Reyna kept her gaze on the ground. She needed to get all of the information that she could, but her face burned in pain. Everything hurt. Life sucked.

“Why not your blood?” Reyna asked quietly. She groaned as blood trickled out of her mouth. “Wouldn't that be more powerful?”

Brizo studied Reyna for a very long moment. She finally spoke, “I will be back to find out who the two other Greeks are. If I even suspect you of lying, I will put you through pain that you have never experienced before.”

“Cut deep enough for permanent damage,” Brizo ordered. She turned and left the room. Reyna stared at the dagger in Annabeth's hand. Fighting her way out of her situation was impossible, and it seemed like she was destined to die in the middle of a Greek camp.

Reyna watched the dagger move. She blinked, and the ropes around her chest were cut in one fell swoop. Reyna blinked a few times and slowly looked up at Annabeth. It took a moment for Reyna to cradle her shoulder.

“Don't freak out too much,” Annabeth said. She gently placed a finger to her eyes, and when she lowered her hand, a green contact was sitting on it. “I can explain.”

“Please don't tell me that this is a sick, practical joke gone wrong,” Reyna whispered. Annabeth smiled slightly and shook her head. She studied Reyna in concern and then put the contact back in. “That's good. I was about to go on a rant about how much I hated you and all of the Greeks.”

“I was freed after we brought you in,” Annabeth whispered. She shook her head for a few moments and gently felt Reyna's shoulder. Reyna tensed and closed her eyes tightly. “It's badly broken, but we can give you medicine and make you a sling.”

“I don't understand,” Reyna began. “How are you free from the spell?”

“That woman told me to retrieve the box from the attic, and when I was up there, Rachel attacked me from behind. She managed to get earbuds into my ears and blasted music loud enough that it was the only thing I could hear. I'm still listening to that music, so I have to read your lips,” Annabeth said. She moved her hair enough for Reyna to see the wire of earbuds.

“We've been trying to find Rachel,” Reyna whispered. She laid her head back against the chair and stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes slowly moved to Annabeth. “What are the names of my dogs?”

Annabeth gave her a look, but she finally spoke, “Aurum and Argentum. They love to chew on metal bits, and you love them more than you do people.”

A humorless grin came to Reyna's face. She let out a pained sigh and spoke, “Piper, Leo, and Percy are free. Hedge, Juniper, and Grover were helping as well. They went to Bunker 9, but I told Brizo where to find them.”

“Brizo?” Annabeth interrupted. Reyna nodded and stared at the ground. Annabeth quickly stood and grabbed the black box. She closed it and tucked it underneath her arm. “Can you walk?”

“Not by myself,” Reyna admitted. Annabeth nodded and gently grabbed Reyna's left arm. She wrapped Reyna's arm around her shoulder and helped her stand. It took all of Reyna's willpower to bite back a yell of pain. Her next words were a whisper, and she looked at Annabeth. “We were going to free you next.”

“Not a bad plan,” Annabeth whispered. She moved towards the door and managed to open it. Annabeth peeked out and then led Reyna into the hallway. Reyna tried to walk under her own power, but she leaned heavily on Annabeth. The events of the past day, or days, was catching up to her.

Annabeth made it down the hall, and another door opened. Reyna bit back a curse, but Annabeth didn't tense. She led Reyna towards the open door, and they stepped inside. Rachel nodded to both of them and helped Reyna walk towards a chair.

Reyna slowly sat in the chair and laid her head back. Her eyes slowly took in everything in the room, which was a ton of half opened boxes. Annabeth spoke, “We need to make a sling for her.”

“We have to warn the others at Bunker 9,” Reyna began. She felt terrible that she had sold out the Greeks. All it took was for her to look into the blue eyes of Brizo, and she told the goddess everything she wanted to know.

“You need to rest,” Annabeth argued. Reyna shook her head. “Listen, I need you to tell me everything that you know, and I will warn those at Bunker 9. You and Rachel need to free Chiron, after you take some ambrosia and sleep for a few hours.”

“We can just get Chiron,” Reyna began. She tried to move, but both Annabeth and Rachel stopped her. Reyna let out a soft curse and looked down at the ground. “Fine. I'll rest.”

“I'll get you some medicine,” Annabeth whispered. Reyna nodded slightly and closed her eyes. She heard Rachel making a sling, but at the moment, she didn't care. All she wanted to do was sleep. Her eyes started to drift close, and despite all of the danger, she fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	17. Day Six: That Which Brings Life

Reyna really thought she was going to have a peaceful sleep. She thought that she would pass out in friendly conditions and wake up in the same if not better conditions. The first hope was shattered as she found herself in what looked to be an arcade. Reyna slowly looked around and stared at all of the people gathered around a machine.

All of them wore black shirts that had a strange symbol on the front of it. The symbol was a large, yellow dot that had a slice taken out of it. The slice of that dot faced other smaller but full dots. Most of them held a pizza in one hand and a red cup in the other.

A simultaneous groan escaped the group huddled around the machine. Reyna risked taking a step closer. The symbol on the machine was the same one as everyone had on their shirt. She slowly looked down at her watch. It was Saturday, and if her watch was actually correct, this was the sixth day of her so called vacation. That also meant she had been unconscious for maybe a day.

Reyna took a step backwards and felt herself bump into a table. She turned and slowly examined the table. There was a small plaque on the table that read two million and five hundred seventy points. Reyna blinked a few times and stared at the plaque. Plates of pizza and cans of Diet Coke littered the top of the table. Reyna slowly looked at the person sitting at the table.

“Oh no,” the man said. He lowered his pizza, exposing his red nose and chubby face. His bloodshot eyes studied Reyna, and some sauce from his pizza fell onto his Hawaiian shirt. “What did Johnson burn down?”

“Bacchus,” Reyna greeted. Normally, she would bow to the god or even drop to a knee. She was too tired, annoyed, hurt, and confused for that. Reyna grabbed onto a chair and collapsed into it. “I don't know who Johnson is, but why are you here?”

“It's the yearly Pac-Man tournament,” Bacchus answered. He looked at the machine, and a smile came to his face. “These mortals think they can beat my score, but even if they do, I will just destroy it again.”

“Pac-Man tournament,” Reyna repeated. Somehow, the god of wine taking a break from Camp Half-Blood to play a game against mortals was the most normal part of her week. “Do you play in it every year?”

“My father won't allow me,” Bacchus answered. He glared up at the sky. “I was only able to do it this year because Chiron put in a good word for me, and I have been bothering my father for the last two decades.”

Reyna slowly looked back at the arcade machine. It almost sounded nice, to be spending time with mortals and not have to worry about being killed by blood thirsty monster. Bacchus spoke, “Praetor, why are you here, interrupting my vacation?”

“I don't know,” Reyna admitted. She looked back at the Olympian. “Do you know a goddess named Brizo?”

Bacchus had been taking a sip of his Diet Coke, but upon hearing the name, he tensed. He seemed to swallow his drink and slowly sat it on the table. Bacchus spoke, “Yes. I know her well.”

“Well, she's trying to destroy Camp Half-Blood,” Reyna said. She studied Bacchus. While she had heard a few stories about him, she didn't really believe them. Bacchus had to be just like Terminus, dedicated to protecting his camp. “She has these Sirens that she helped create. They have all of the campers except for a few under their spell and they want to murder all of the Greeks.”

Bacchus made a noise, like he didn't even care. Obviously, he was still trying to swallow down the rest of the soda. Reyna waited for him to declare that he was going to head right back to Camp Half-Blood to help or even just tell her how to free the Greeks.

Instead, Bacchus stared down at his shirt and flicked away some of the sauce that was there. He lazily looked at the arcade machine to make sure that no one was close to his score. Reyna spoke, “Do you have any ideas?”

“If you are not under their spell, you should leave. If you don't leave, try to clean up the bodies before I get back,” Bacchus answered.

“What about the Greeks? They are your campers,” Reyna said. Bacchus simply shrugged. Reyna just stared at him and tried to think of what to say. She finally shook her head and slowly stood. “Do you not care about the people that you are suppose to care for?”

“Do you?” Bacchus countered. Reyna could her eyes starting to narrow, and she tried to keep herself calm. “You have to be annoyed at them, don't you? All of them are just trying to get themselves killed constantly. They always look to you to solve your problems.”

“That's the point of being a leader, isn't it?” Reyna asked. Bacchus studied her for a very long moment. “With how long you have been at Camp Half-Blood, I know you understand that.”

“With how short of a life you have, you should understand that you don't need to make it any shorter by angering a god,” Bacchus warned. Reyna looked away. She crossed her arms and tried to think. Why was she having this dream? She wanted to think of the Garden of Bacchus, not the stupid arcade the god was hanging out in.

“Brizo was once loved and revered. Then, Poseidon came and stole her worshipers. She became more involved in mortal affairs, hoping to find someone to cling to,” Bacchus said. Was this the only information he would give? It was useless to Reyna.

“She already told me her sob story while she was trying to interrogate me,” Reyna muttered. She looked down at the table. “Chiron is trapped underneath some kind of spell. Annabeth always said that you would love for all of the Greeks to disappear. I thought she was joking, but I think you'll get your wish.”

“What brings us life will also bring us death,” Bacchus warned. Reyna slowly looked up at him. The god stood and walked back towards the machine. “If you'll excuse me, a moral is getting close to my score.”

“You have to help Camp Half-Blood. There is no way they can handle Brizo on their own,” Reyna said. Bacchus didn't even look back at her. He simply snapped his fingers, and Reyna's world went dark. Her eyes snapped open, and she took deep, pained breaths.

Reyna immediately tried to sit up, but pain tore through her entire body. She collapsed back onto the ground. Her hand slowly moved to her shoulder, and she felt the sling on her shoulder. It felt like an actual sling, so someone must have paid a visit to the infirmary.

Upon seeing Rachel, Reyna relaxed. Then, she realized they weren't alone. Reyna turned her head and stared up at Brizo. The goddess grinned down at her, and Reyna tried to back away. There went her hope of waking up in a safe situation.

“Don't wake on my account,” Brizo said. Reyna slowly looked around and found one of the Sirens and two Greeks standing near her. One of them, of course, was Clarisse. Reyna didn't recognize the other one, but before she could even think, Clarisse grabbed her by the sling and pulled her to her feet.

Reyna yelled in pain and felt her knees go weak. She was completely exhausted, despite however much sleep she had gotten. Brizo walked towards Reyna and grabbed her face. The goddess spoke, “Did you really think that you were that smart?”

“Yes?” Reyna asked after a moment. The back of Brizo's hand slammed into Reyna's mouth, and the force of it would have knocked Reyna to the ground. Thanks to Clarisse's grip, she stayed on her feet. “I don't even know what you're talking about.”

“You tried to trick me,” Brizo snapped. She grabbed Reyna's jaw tightly. “You told me that the bunker would have the others there, but there was nothing. No one was in the bunker.”

“Were you checking Bunker 8 or 10?” Reyna asked. She wasn't quite sure what happened next. Reyna just knew that she had been standing on her feet one moment and was flat on her back the next. Her jaw ached in pain, and it also felt like Brizo had decided to punt her brain across the camp.

“Leave her alone,” Rachel said. She was being held back by the Siren and unnamed Greek. An evil grin came to Brizo's face. She walked towards Rachel and grabbed her arm. “I'm not going to do anything that you want.”

“You will,” Brizo said. She moved her other hand to Rachel's face. “You are going to pledge your loyalty to me, or I break the rest of your friend's bones.”

Reyna tried to tell Rachel not to listen to the goddess, but her words came out in a slur. She tried to sit up, but Clarisse kept her pinned with a well placed boot right to the collarbone. Reyna let out a strangled cry of pain and laid her head back.

After a few moments, Rachel looked down. She spoke, “I'll do what you want, as long as you don't hurt her. How did you find us?”

“You have the audacity to hide in my base. I was always going to find you,” Brizo snapped. She grinned. “You are going to my altar and will pledge your loyalty to me. Then, you are going to fill the box for my Sirens. Am I understood?”

“I understand,” Rachel began. She seemed to be looking for a way out, but there really wasn't one. Reyna was in no shape to defend herself, but she was going to fight back. Her hand slowly reached towards her boot, and she grabbed the small knife that was hidden inside.

Reyna threw her knife right at Brizo. It grazed the goddess' face, and golden ichor trickled from the wound. A single drop of the blood of the gods hit the ground. Brizo placed a hand to her face. A murderous look came to her eyes, and she walked towards Reyna.

Maybe, that wasn't Reyna's best idea. She tried to move backwards, but there was nothing she could do with the foot still pressed firmly into her injured shoulder. Brizo grabbed Reyna by her shirt once again and pulled her to her feet. She slammed Reyna directly into the wall.

A yell of pain escaped Reyna, and she laid her head back. She stared at Brizo and felt the goddess grab her face once again. Brizo whispered, “I am going to kill you. Do you understand that? Your usefulness has ran out.”

“Wait,” Reyna said. She laid her head back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Siren walk towards them. “There is one thing that I can offer you.”

“What would that be?” Brizo asked coldly. Reyna used her good hand to punch Brizo right across the face. The cut on Brizo's face opened more, and her blood hit the Siren. The Siren suddenly yelped in pain and jumped backwards. Reyna stared as she saw that a small piece of the Siren's skin was burning.

“Your blood burns them,” Reyna realized. Two hands wrapped around her neck a moment later, and she gasped. She hit at Brizo's hands and found herself unable to breath. Reyna kicked at the goddess and tried to desperately fight her way out of her situation.

“You can't kill Reyna!” Rachel protested. She tried to pull away from the Greek that held onto her but couldn't. Reyna wanted to nodded her agreement. She very much liked being alive and not having the life choked out of her. “She's cursed!”

Reyna's eyes shot towards Rachel? Cursed? What was that suppose to mean? Reyna couldn't focus on the words. She was busy trying to keep herself alive, but there was nothing she could do. The world was darkening, and this was going to be the end.

“I don't believe in curses,” Brizo said, and even though it seemed impossible, she tightened her grip.

“There's a prophecy. Whoever kills her will incur the wrath of an Olympian,” Rachel said. “And, it will curse our camp and kill everyone here. Please do not kill her. I will show you the prophecy.”

Brizo let go of Reyna. The only thing Reyna could do was collapse and cough miserably. Every cough sent terrible pain through her body, and she tried to breath properly. A foot to the gut drove the air right back out of her. Reyna collapsed on her back and choked on nothing.

“Trust me. We have been trying to get rid of Reyna for decades now,” Rachel said. Reyna tried to raise her head and glare at the Oracle. What in Bellona's name was Rachel even talking about? “She is a cursed Roman, defeated in battle by the Spartans and forced into servitude for Camp Half-Blood, under Ares' command. He has promised to curse anyone who kills her.”

Brizo stared down at Reyna and let out a sigh. Reyna slowly turned on her side and let out pained wheezes. Her eyes were watering, and it still hurt to breath. Just existing hurt. She hated everyone. Every single Senator that had sent her to Camp Half-Blood and the Greek who suggested it could all rot in Tartarus for all she cared.

“No wonder you have such disrespect,” Brizo commented, and she spat down at Reyna. Her gaze moved to Rachel. “You are coming with me. You, the ugly one, watch the servant. Don't let her leave you sight.”

Clarisse nodded and stood by the door. The other Greek and the Siren dragged Rachel out of the room. Brizo followed behind them, but she did spare another glance back at Reyna. The only thing Reyna could do was stare at the goddess and watch her go. The door slammed shut behind her with a deafening slam.

“Clarisse, did they free you?” Reyna whispered. Clarisse just stared at her. Her eyes were still green and had no emotion in them. Reyna laid her head back. “Oh, that's great. In that case, I'm going to lay here and curse my life. Then, I'm going to have to hurt you and break out of here. Any problems with that?”

When Clarisse didn't respond, Reyna gave her a thumbs up, followed by a middle finger. She curled up on her side and rested her head on the ground. Reyna had some sort of concussion, not to mention the fact that her collarbone felt completely destroyed. Life just really sucked.

Reyna would take five minutes to dwell on her life. Then, she would get back to business, but could she really do anything in her injured state? Reyna stared up at the ceiling. She had to assume that the Greeks made it out of Bunker 9 but were unable to help her. Reyna was on her own.

Reyna needed to get away from Clarisse and free Chiron. The only question was how she was going to do that, but she still had four and a half minutes to hate her life. She was definitely going to use up all of that time. Reyna let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. She sent up a silent prayer that everything would work out.


	18. Day Six: Pity Parties and Revolutions

Reyna's pity part lasted longer than she wanted it to, but that wasn't her fault. The sleep she had gotten was nowhere near enough to keep her rested, and all of the healing that nectar or ambrosia had done was erased when Brizo decided to throw her around like she was a small child. She was starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel for strength.

It took most of Reyna's strength to get into a sitting position, let alone a standing one. Her world started to spin, and she rested her head in one of her hands. After sighing deeply, Reyna slowly made it to her own two feet. Right on cue, Clarisse walked towards her.

“Let's not do this,” Reyna began. Clarisse looked at her for a long moment and threw a punch. Of course, the child of war would translate keeping Reyna in the room as knocking her lights out. If Reyna was unconscious, she couldn't escape.

Reyna dodged the attack but immediately regretted it as pain shot through her body. She stumbled backwards and gripped her arm. Then, she slowly took off her sling. Before she could really make any sort of plan, Clarisse grabbed her by the arm and threw her across the room, like the small child that she apparently was.

Reyna landed on her feet, but the pain that shot throughout her body drove her to her knees. Clarisse walked towards her. Reyna stared at the ground and felt two hands grab her shirt. It took all of her willpower to ignore the pain. There was only one thing she could do. She was going to hate herself for it, but Clarisse was going to hate her a lot more.

It took all of Reyna's strength and willpower to grab Clarisse's head, and she drive both of her fingers into the ear of the Greek. There was the disgusting feeling of her fingers hitting earwax and something a little more solid. Reyna wince as she heard a loud pop, and Clarisse howled in pain.

Clarisse threw Reyna away from her and stumbled backwards. She fell to her knees and gripped her head. Reyna stepped back into the wall and slowly slid down it. Lifting her arms enough to stab her finger into Clarisse's ears had taken the rest of her strength, and all she wanted to do was curl up in cry. Instead, she buried her head in her knees.

This was her last ditch effort. If she failed, Clarisse was going to kick her teeth right out of her mouth. Well, Clarisse would still kick her teeth out if she succeeded as well. Failure meant Camp Half-Blood would be destroyed, and the goddess might decide to turn her wrath towards Camp Jupiter.

A hand grabbed Reyna's shoulder, and she tensed. It took her a few moments to look up. Clarisse stared down at her. The green was gone from Clarisse's eyes. There was a scowl on her face. Reyna spoke, “Can you read lips?”

Clarisse stared at her blankly. Reyna slowly scooted towards her fallen dagger. She carved the word Sirens into the floor. Then, she laid her head back and stared at Clarisse. Everything completely hurt, and all she wanted to do was cry in pain. She needed to focus though and get herself under control.

Clarisse stared at the word for a very long moment. Then, she placed a hand to her ear, and a scowl came to her face. Clarisse studied Reyna and spoke, “Are you hurt?”

Reyna nodded and slowly pointed towards her shoulder. She traced her finger towards her chest. Reyna lifted her hand and made a small motion to her ribs then head. A frown came to Clarisse's face, and she dug ambrosia out of her pocket. Reyna took it gratefully and tried to relax as some of her pain faded away.

“What is going on?” Clarisse demanded. She felt her ears and started to grab ambrosia. Reyna grabbed her arm and shook her head. She made a writing motion. After a moment, Clarisse left the room. Reyna laid back and hoped that Clarisse was grabbing a pen and paper and not something to bludgeon her with.

A few minutes passed, not that Reyna was really keeping track. She had gone from sitting against the wall to a pathetic curled up position, like she could squeeze the pain out of her. Clarisse stepped into the room and dropped the pen and paper on the ground. Reyna reached out and slowly wrote a quick recap of what was happening, along with a small apology for trying to destroy Clarisse's eardrums. It would heal though, hopefully.

Clarisse read the paper and didn't say a word. She finally shook her head in what looked to be an angry way. Clarisse spoke, “That black box. I brought it back. This is my fault.”

“It is, but we don't need to throw around blame,” Reyna muttered. She knew that she needed to get to her feet, but everything just hurt. It would be nice to fall back asleep and let the Greeks sort out their own problems. Besides, the goddess really seemed to hate Reyna, and and something told her that the next meeting would have more than a few disrespectful backhands.

“What are we going to do?” Clarisse asked. Reyna offered a half shrug. Sleep sounded so nice. Maybe, this was just one whole nightmare. If she went to sleep, she would hopefully wake back up at Camp Jupiter. “Where's Chiron?”

Right. Chiron. Reyna was suppose to rescue him. She stared down at the cool, comforting floor. Then, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled out of the room. Clarisse followed and practically held her up, which was really the least that she could do. This was all Clarisse's fault after all.

A sigh left Reyna. Her injuries and the dream had put her in a really bad mood. What was the point of an Olympian being the director of Camp Half-Blood if he wasn't going to help that camp. It made no sense to Reyna. She sighed and focused on using hand motions to show the door that Chiron was locked behind.

“You need to free him. I am going to find the others,” Clarisse said. Reyna shook her head. She wasn't in any shape to really be doing anything. “What do you say we do then?”

Reyna made a motion to her and Clarisse. Then, she motioned to the door. The daughter of war rolled her eyes and tried to open the door. When that didn't work, she moved away from Reyna and kicked the door wide open.

“You're a genius,” Reyna said, and she was grateful that Clarisse couldn't hear her. A sigh left Reyna, and she slowly walked into the room. It was completely bare, and Chiron sat in the middle of it. He was sitting in his wheelchair and had a blanket over his legs. They also didn't have much time to wake him if someone heard the noise.

Reyna examined Chiron's face, but he didn't look any different. He was breathing, so that was a good thing. A small frown came to Reyna's face. She had absolutely no clue what to do. They both heard footsteps.

“Wake him. I will handle them,” Clarisse said. She left the room and closed the door behind her. A stream of curses left Reyna. She hated the Greeks. Reyna absolutely hated all of them.

Reyna stared at Chiron, but she was at a lost for words. What was she even going to do? How was she suppose to wake Chiron? Slapping him wouldn't be an option, mostly because that would send a jolt of pain through Reyna's broken collarbone

“Mother, please help me wake him up,” Reyna whispered. She gently grabbed Chiron's shoulder. Her plan was to shake his shoulder, hope it woke him, and then collapse in pain for a hour or so. As soon as she grabbed his shoulder, the world around her changed.

Reyna felt like she had a bad sense of vertigo, and she stumbled backwards. Reyna slowly looked around and stared at the room she was in. It looked like the meeting room of Camp Half-Blood, but it was much different. The pool table somehow looked a lot more older and a lot more damaged.

Everyone in the room was weird. It looked like they had all been plucked from different eras. Annabeth, or a younger version of her, was sitting in the seat closest to Chiron. The man that sat next to her wore a tunic, like he had stepped out of Greece. Another wore clothes that Reyna had seen in a disco movie.

“I'm sorry, Chiron,” all of them said at once. They all had a sad look in their eyes and a quiet tone. Reyna recognized the look on their faces. They were telling Chiron that someone had died. A frown came to Chiron's face, and he remained silent.

What kind of hell was this? Chiron was apparently having a dream that forced him to relive the announcement that one of the campers had died. Was he seeing each of these all at once or one at a time? Reyna had to make that visit to the family of a dead demigod before, and it was one of the hardest things she had done. To be forced to relive that moment when you realized someone you were suppose to protect had died was inconceivable.

“Chiron, you can't listen to them,” Reyna said. She turned towards Chiron and slowly grabbed his face. He didn't even look at her. “Chiron.”

“I'll have to inform the parents,” Chiron whispered. His eyes seemed a million miles away. “How did it happen?”

“Chiron!” Reyna yelled. She tightened her grip on his face. “It is just a trick of the Sirens. You cannot listen to them! I know it's hard, but they are dead. We can't change that, and we can't dwell on it. The only thing you can do is wake up. All of your current campers are in danger, and I can't save them alone.”

“I'm going to be the reason they die,” Reyna whispered. The realization hit her like a brick, and she swallowed painfully. She told Brizo about Bunker 9. The goddess hadn't found the Greeks, but it was only a matter of time. The camp was not that big. “Please help me save them.”

Chiron slowly moved his eyes to look at her. Recognition crossed his face for a moment, and Reyna continued,” Sirens have taken over your camp. They have all of the campers under a spell through song, and you're in some kind of coma. Please just wake up.”

Reyna felt pathetic for practically begging, and it only served to anger her. The only thing she wanted to do was protect her friends, and it seemed like she kept taking a step backwards for every step forward. No progress was being made.

“Who?” Chiron asked slowly. His eyes moved around to look back at the campers, but Reyna blocked his view. “Who leads the Sirens?”

“Brizo. A goddess who really hates Greeks,” Reyna answered. She tensed and could feel that her heart was racing. It almost felt like she sweating. “What do you know about her?”

“She was cast away,” Chiron answered. His eyes drifted away once again, but Reyna tightened her grip. She felt her knees going weak, and her stomach turned. What was going on with her? “Offered her blood a gift to those who were worthy.”

“Mortals can't have ichor,” Reyna said. She was starting to feel dizzy and sick to her stomach. “How would she offer her blood?”

“To create,” Chiron answered. Reyna felt searing pain in her shoulder, and she gasped. Chiron met her eyes. “And to destroy.”

Reyna's eyes snapped open, and her knees gave out on her. She collapsed against someone who caught her and helped her lay on the ground. Reyna's heart was racing, and she felt sick to her stomach. It felt like her knees could barely support her weight.

“Stay with me,” Annabeth whispered. Reyna stared at Annabeth. She felt like she was overheating, and she could feel how bad she was sweating. “Try to relax. You're going to be okay.”

“Chiron,” Reyna began. She turned her head and saw that he was still asleep. “Stuck in a nightmare. I talked to him.”

“You don't look good at all,” Annabeth whispered. Reyna laid her head back and slowly closed her eyes. Annabeth handed her ambrosia. After a moment, Reyna took it. That was probably the last that she could take for a day or two, unless she wanted to burn up into a bunch of small pieces.

“I'm okay,” Reyna whispered. She slowly sat up and looked at Chiron. It seemed like he was in some kind of enchanted sleep, and trying to wake him had apparently drained her of strength, which was great. “Help me up.”

Annabeth slowly nodded and helped Reyna to her feet. She spoke, “Things are going to get really weird and really fast. We have a plan, but where is Rachel?”

“Brizo found her and is going to use her blood to fill the box, after she pledges her loyalty at the altar,” Reyna answered. Annabeth looked down, but the concern on her face was clear. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't blame yourself,” Annabeth answered. “We have a plan on how to free the rest of the Greeks from the singing of the Sirens, but we still don't know how to destroy them.”

“I managed to cut Brizo with my knife,” Reyna said. She looked down. “Her blood hit a Siren and seemed to burn her. Chiron also said that Brizo's blood can create and destroy.”

Reyna knew she had all the pieces to the puzzle on how to destroy the Sirens, but between the pain and exhaustion, it just wasn't clicking. She couldn't see the final image of the puzzle. Reyna tried to focus, but she heard a buzzing, like someone had turned on a speaker.

“I hope this works,” Percy muttered. Reyna glanced at him and then looked at Annabeth. Before she could ask what was going on, she heard the buzzing once again, along with a crackling.

“Hello Camp Half-Blood!” Leo yelled. He was nowhere near Reyna, but she heard him pretty clearly. His voice was also disoriented. “Welcome to dance dance Leolution. We are going to free all of you from the spell of the monsters with a dance party.”

“Dance party?” Reyna slowly asked. She stared at Annabeth.

“We set up speakers around the camp. We figure that if Leo's karaoke can drown out the sound of the Siren's singing, we can free the campers from the spell. The Sirens will be outnumbered,” Percy explained.

“We just have to worry about the goddess,” Reyna muttered. Annabeth looked at her and nodded. Reyna sighed and looked down. This plan was the worst that she had ever heard, and with some of the crazy things that came out of Dakota's mouth after he binged on kool-aid, that was saying something. It was their plan though, and Reyna would just have to go with it. “Let's save your camp.”


	19. Day Six: How to Kill a Siren in Seven Days

Did Leo's plan work? Well, not really. Did Reyna expect it to work? Not at all. It was a plan that Leo made after all, and while he was good at creating physical things, he wasn't so good at the mental stuff, like making good plans. There was a small part that Reyna hoped the plan would work, until she stepped outside.

The Sirens used magic to enhance the volume of their voices and to carry it across the camp. Leo's voice was coming through preset speakers around the camp, and as his voice started to become louder, the Sirens sang louder as well. It caused an instant effect as most of the Greeks had collapsed to the ground and were gripping their heads.

Percy and Annabeth also seemed effected. Annabeth fell against the porch and gripped her head. Percy fell to his knees. Reyna slowly looked at them. The wax didn't seem to be helping, or the volume was so loud that it was now ineffective. A string of curses left Reyna's mouth, and she looked around.

This was really going to be all up to Reyna. She didn't know where the Fauns were or where any other help was. Before leaving the Big House, Percy told her that they had been hard at work disrupting the altar, freeing a few more demigods, and making their plan with the speakers. Reyna sighed and focused ahead. She knew the three Sirens could not be killed by normal means, but the blood of the goddess burned them.

Reyna had two options. The first was to fight Brizo, subdue her, and take her blood. Brizo was a goddess though, and even if Reyna was in a perfect shape, she wasn't going to defeat the goddess in hand to hand combat. Ambushing her didn't seem like it would work.

That left Reyna with option two: silence the Sirens. She wasn't going to be able to kill them, but would the Sirens be able to sing with a broken jaw or a removed tongue? Reyna was going to find out. She reached around for her weapon but realized it wasn't on her. She didn't have any weapons.

“Sorry Percy,” Reyna said. She reached into Percy's pocket and pulled out his pen. Reyna uncapped the pen and watched it transform into a sword. “Hope this doesn't disappear if I drop it.”

Reyna looked around at the roof of the cabins. When she saw a Siren on one, she jogged towards it. Reyna gripped the sword in her hand and came to a stop near the cabin. She lifted the sword like a javelin and threw it directly at the Siren. It hit her right in the shoulder, and she fell off of the cabin.

Reyna moved to the Siren's side and grabbed the sword. She pulled it out of the Siren's shoulder and slammed it down once again. As the head rolled from the body, Reyna punted the head like she would a soccer ball. It took her a moment to stumble backwards and place a hand to her mouth. That was not an image she was going to get out of her head anytime soon.

As if her life wasn't terrible or weird enough, the body of the Siren stood. Reyna stared and watched the body slowly start to move towards the head. She let out a solid string of curses and cut out one of the legs of the Siren. Reyna watched the blood trickle out and felt sick to her stomach. If she had anything to eat, she would be throwing it up.

Reyna was use to violence. She could handle seeing broken bones, open wounds, and even things like entrails. This was a different level though. She had decapitated two demigods before, both times because she had no other option. Those images still haunted her and kept her from sleeping sometimes. It wasn't like Reyna went around and hacked off limbs for fun.

The Siren was now a monster, but she had been a mortal. She had suffered for so long, and this was only going to make things worse. Reyna closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. She needed to calm down. She just needed to breath and do the job at hand.

“I'm sorry,” Reyna whispered. She opened her eyes and quickly cut off the Siren's remaining leg. As the Siren started to use her arms to crawl, Reyna let out another curse. She cut off both of the Siren's arms at the elbow. As she kicked the limbs away, she collapsed against the cabin and slowly slid down it.

Reyna rested her head on her knees and tried to breath. She inhaled, counted to ten, and then exhaled After repeating it a few more times, she slowly looked up. Each of the Siren's limbs was flopping around like a fish. Reyna's gut twisted once again, and she slowly made it to her feet.

That was one down and two more to go. Then, she would have to confront Brizo. Reyna took a few steps backwards and forced her eyes away from the destruction that she had caused. Reyna took a few deep breaths and kept walking backwards.

Reyna slowly walked through the camp, moving past the Greeks who were immobilized on the ground. Their ears seemed to be bleeding, which was proof that Leo was a terrible singer. This plan was still stupid, but Reyna just had to roll with it. She could yell at Leo later, if they all survived.

As Reyna caught sight of the altar, she stepped behind a cabin. The altar looked like it had been rebuilt, but the base wasn't even finished yet. Any Greeks near it were curled up in a small ball. It was like the magic of the Sirens and Leo's singing had them at some kind of standstill. As Reyna focused on Leo's singing, she recognized a female singer as well: Piper. Charmspeak had to be lacing her words, which was probably why the Greeks were immobilized. Their brains couldn't handle both the power of the Sirens and charmspeak trying to tell them what to do.

A cry of pain caught Reyna's attention. She focused back on the altar and saw that Brizo was pinning Rachel to the ground with her foot. The goddess had Rachel's arm outstretched, and there was a nasty gash in her arm that was gushing blood into the box. Reyna had to interfere. Now.

“Leave her alone!” Reyna yelled. She walked towards Brizo. Reyna didn't see the other two Sirens, which was good. This was going to be a fight between the two of them. “Brizo, this plan is insane. Why don't you just stop and look around? You hate the Greeks for something that happened so long ago. These campers don't have anything to do with it.”

Brizo sneered and let go of Rachel's arm. She closed her black box and walked towards Reyna. Rachel curled up on her side and pressed her arm to her shirt. The goddess walked towards Reyna and spoke, “Do you not understand that they are merely a vessel for suffering?”

“You are going to kill demigods who do not deserve to suffer,” Reyna snapped. She gripped the sword in her hand. “It is just like those three women that you tried to save.”

“I tried to show those women mercy, and I was stopped,” Brizo said. She studied Reyna for a long moment, and a grin came to her face. “You speak of mercy, but you yourself are a killer. I see your past.”

“I'm not a killer,” Reyna said. She took a step backwards and lowered the sword. Her gut twisted, and she looked down at the ground. Brizo was just trying to throw her off of her game. The gaze was no longer pulling her in, so Brizo was trying other ways of manipulation.

“You know all about hate,” Brizo whispered. She moved closer to Reyna. Before Reyna could pull backwards, her arm was grabbed. “You know that it twist your soul and poisons your heart. It makes you become something that you do not want to become. I did not want to become the goddess that I am today, but those three women deserve justice. They deserve someone to fight for them.”

“You're going to kill all of these Greeks just to avenge three mortals?” Reyna asked. Brizo moved closer to her, and Reyna found herself starting to get lost in those eyes once again. She tried to pull away, but Brizo grabbed her arms and pulled her into a deep kiss.

Reyna closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, she was standing in a small temple. Reyna slowly looked around and stared as she saw a small girl kneeling at an altar. The altar clearly belonged to Brizo, but Reyna didn't recognize the small girl. She could have only been ten or eleven.

“Please protect us,” the young girl begged. A man walked into the temple. He wore the armor of a Greek soldier, but there was no blood or sweat on him. The girl flinched at the sound of his footsteps. “Father. Please.”

“I told you to leave this place,” the man snapped. He grabbed the young girl and slapped her across the face. The girl fell backwards. “Your whore of a mother prayed to that goddess and look where that got her. I will teach you some respect.”

“Please don't,” the girl begged. The man slammed her into the altar. Reyna looked away and covered her ears. It wasn't long before the screams of the girl filled the temple. Reyna closed her eyes tightly and tried to block out the sounds. After a few minutes, the noise stopped.

“You act as if I only did all of this for three women,” Brizo whispered. Reyna slowly opened her eyes and looked at the goddess. They were standing on water, but there was nothing else around them. Shackles seemed to be on Brizo's arms and legs, keeping her trapped on the water. “I did this for their children, their grandchildren, and all of the poor victims of the gods.”

“Those three women were just one example of the gods turning their backs on the people who beg for their mercy,” Brizo continued. The shackles fell from her arms, and she slowly grabbed Reyna's face. “Who is to protect the innocent mortals that suffer for no reason?”

“The other minor gods understand,” Brizo whispered. She looked up at the sky. “They tried to work with Kronos to storm Olympus and destroy the gods. Demigods stopped them. I believe that destroying all of the children here will not hurt the gods. No. The pain will only come when they realize that there is no one left to save them.”

“You are insane,” Reyna whispered. Brizo studied her for a very long time and then growled softly. The goddess shoved her away. Reyna fell backwards and blinked a few times. She found herself back at Camp Half-Blood. “Brizo, stop and think!”

“The Oracle told me that you were a slave to the Greeks, but I think she was lying. I have nothing to lose and no one to anger by killing you,” Brizo said. A trident appeared in her hands. Reyna rolled out of the way of an attack and tried to stand. Something blunt and heavy slammed into her leg wound.

Reyna collapsed to the ground and gripped her leg. She hit the ground in anger and took deep breaths. Her eyes focused on Percy's sword, which had fell from her hands when she had been shoved. It disappeared from sight. Of course. Stupid Percy. Stupid pen that turned into a sword.

Reyna slowly scooted backwards and felt her back hit something solid. She slowly looked back at the altar that she had hit. Then, her gaze moved to the imperial gold sword next to the altar. Reyna slowly reached out and grabbed her sword. She felt strength flood through her.

“I'm not going to let you hurt my friends anymore,” Reyna said. She slowly stood. Brizo glared and darted forward with her trident. Reyna dodged to the side and took a few steps backwards, moving towards a cabin.

There was two more special abilities that officer's swords had. The first was that it could power the wielder in the most desperate of times, but when Reyna's sword left her hand again, all of the exhaustion and pain that it took away would come back full force. The second ability was that it seemed to do a little more damage to certain Roman enemies. It loved Greek blood, almost as much as Carthaginian blood.

Reyna backed up until she was close to a cabin. She spoke, “How do you plan on killing all the Greeks when you're beaten by a speaker?”

Brizo snarled something in another language, but it did not sound like she was happy about what Reyna said. Brizo lunged forward, and Reyna deflected the attack. She flipped her sword in her hand and slammed the hilt of her sword directly into Brizo's jaw.

Reyna would have like to turn her sword into a javelin, but that would be the same as her sword leaving her hand. All of the exhaustion would hit her like a rock, which wasn't an ideal thing to happen in the middle of a fight. Reyna stabbed her sword upwards, aiming for the goddess' throat.

Brizo barely dodged and stumbled away. She looked stunned by the fact that Reyna had hit her. Reyna stabbed forward with her sword. Brizo used her trident to knock the blow away. The force of Brizo's deflect caused Reyna to turn around almost completely, so she used her momentum to spin in a circle and lash out again.

Golden ichor flew from Brizo's throat, and she stumbled backwards. Reyna saw her opportunity. The goddess was off balance, and Reyna could hopefully injure her enough to force her away. A heavy weight suddenly slammed into Reyna from the side.

Reyna yelled in pain as she landed on her injured shoulder. She almost lost her sword but gripped it tightly. A Siren stood and stumbled to Brizo's side. She spoke, “My lady, they are breaking our spell.”

“Where are they singing from?” Brizo hissed. She forced her trident against Reyna's jugular. “Answer me. Now!”

“I don't know. I was unconscious,” Reyna snapped. While she didn't particularly like the thought of dying, she wasn't going to sell out the Greeks anymore than she already had. Granted, she didn't even know where Piper and Leo were, but it wasn't like Brizo was going to believe her.

A bright light appeared behind Brizo. Reyna felt her mouth go dry. Didn't they say that you saw a bright light when you died? Was this really going to be how Reyna went out? In a stupid Greek camp. On a stupid vacation she didn't ask to go on. And, she didn't even get to apologize to Frank. Or destroy the Greeks in capture the flag.

“Brizo,” a voice growled. Brizo glared and lowered her trident. She turned around. Reyna scooted backwards and stared at the pudgy god that stood behind Brizo. Bacchus slowly looked around the camp. “You have crossed the line.”

“You're suppose to still be away,” Brizo snapped. She stood protectively in front of her Siren. “You don't even care about this camp anyway!”

“I don't,” Bacchus said. His eyes shot around and seemed the study the individual campers. A small frown came to his face. “But, you sent a mortal to beat my high score. That is unforgivable. After I send you back to your prison, I will destroy that mortal's score.”

“Praetor, handle the Sirens,” Bacchus ordered. Brizo barked something in another language. The Siren turned and fled. Reyna stared up at Bacchus. Exactly how was she going run after the Siren with a broken collarbone and injured leg? 

Reyna watched the god and goddess go to war. Bacchus caused vines to rise, and Brizo danced past them. Despite the moves she made, she kept herself in front of the black box. Reyna didn't know why the black box was important, but she knew it was obviously important enough if Brizo was defending it.

Reyna slowly made it to her feet and gripped her sword. She stumbled towards the box. Brizo tried to stop her, but Bacchus shoved her back. Reyna slowly grabbed the sword with her other hand. Putting a sword in the same hand attached to her injured shoulder probably wasn't the smartest thing she could do, but she had no choice. She scooped up the box and turned and ran away. The run was more of a hobble, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

After making it past a cabin, Reyna leaned on the wall. She just hoped that Bacchus could fight as well as he could play Pac-Man. Her eyes moved down to the box, and she slowly opened it. Reyna's gut twisted as she stared down at the blood in the box. It was a lot more blood that Rachel should have lost. As she moved the box, the blood didn't move or ripple, like the box was keeping it in place.

Brizo wanted to power her Sirens with blood from the box, but how was she going to do that? Would the Sirens take a sip from the box? Would they make a soup out of it? A small smirk came to Reyna's face as she laid her head back against the cabin. The restless sleep and lack of food was affecting her.

Reyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to focus. Chiron told her that Brizo's blood could create and destroy. Brizo said that she created the Sirens with her blood, and Reyna vaguely remember asking why Brizo didn't just use her own blood. Instead of answering, the goddess had gotten even more hostile. When golden ichor had hit the Sirens, it burned them.

As the puzzle finally came together, Reyna pushed herself off of the cabin. She did a half run half hobble towards Neptune's cabin. Reyna pushed opened the door and poured the blood on the cabin floor. She walked towards the fountain and dipped the box inside. After shaking the water around, she dropped it on the ground once again. If Percy got mad, she would blame it on someone else. All she could do was hope that the box was cleaned up enough.

Her eyes stared down at the box. There was a mold of the hearts in the box. This box had been taken from Brizo and hidden away. When Reyna found it years ago, the hearts were still inside. Now, the hearts were out of the box, and she had a very bad feeling about where they were.

Reyna slowly stepped out of the cabin and looked around. Brizo and Bacchus were still locked in combat. The Greeks were still useless. Reyna slowly turned and walked back towards the cabin where she had left the dismembered Siren. She heard a yell, “Roman!”

Reyna turned her head and was beyond grateful to see Hedge. A frown came to her face as she saw that the Faun was dragging an unconscious Siren behind him. “I have an idea. I was talking to Grover and Juniper about the quest, and I remembered a line of the prophecy.”

“Something about blood?” Reyna asked. She stared down at the box. Hedge nodded excitedly and pulled out a large hunting knife.

“Cursed singing only blood can free,” Hedge recited. He looked down at the unconscious Siren. “I think we need to drain the Sirens of blood and have all of the affected campers drink it.”

“No,” Reyna said. She stared down at the box. Demigod blood would fill the box and power the Sirens, but if Brizo's blood was used or even touched the Sirens, it would hurt them. Or, it would kill them. Neptune stopped the Sirens, and he crafted the box. The hearts were put inside.

Brizo's blood hurt the Sirens, and maybe it would stop the cursed singing. Reyna looked down at the Siren and slowly placed the box down. She held the hand out for the hunting knife. Her sword would make her next task too difficult. After a moment, Hedge handed her the hunting knife. Reyna plunged the knife into the Siren's chest and started to carve around where the Siren' heart would be.

Reyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then opened her eyes and focused on the job ahead. She threw aside a piece of bone and slowly reached inside the Siren's chest. Reyna pulled out the still beating heart of the Siren and slowly placed it into the box.

“The other one ran,” Reyna said. She knew how emotionless her tone was. “Find her.”

“There's a third,” Hedge began. He stared at Reyna and then down at the Siren. This Siren wasn't moving. It was like her heart was a battery for her body, which Reyna guessed was true of everyone.

“Not for long,” Reyna said. She slowly placed the hunting knife in the box and picked the box up. She looked at Hedge. “Find the other Siren and bring her back. When we carve out her heart, we just have to get blood from the goddess.”

“You make it sound easy,” Hedge began. Reyna didn't answer. She turned away from the Faun and started walking. Reyna had to stay focused and shoved her emotions aside. If she faltered now, all of her hard work would go down the drain. “Roman.”

“Now,” Reyna snapped. She turned towards Hedge. He was staring at her with uncertainty. “We have to take their hearts, put them in the box, and soak them in blood. You have to trust me.”

“I do,” Hedge began. Reyna nodded and turned. She took a step forward and heard the splash of water. Reyna stared down at the puddle of water in the grass, and it started to form a person. Reyna cursed and tried to pull away, but the water wrapped around her leg like a chain. She stabbed forward expecting Brizo to form. Instead, she heard a yell of pain.

It took Reyna a moment to turn around. Brizo was standing behind Hedge, and her trident was stabbed right through his chest. Reyna stared as the blood of her friend trickled to the ground. Brizo looked at her and smiled evilly. The goddess spoke, “Hand over the box, or the Satyr dies.”


	20. Day Six: A Stroke of Luck

Reyna stared at tips of the trident that were sticking out of Hedge's chest. The damage was bad. Really bad. There was a chance to save him though, but Reyna wasn't trained to handle those kinds of wounds. They needed a child of Apollo, but all of them were still crippled. Hedge was lucky enough that the tip of the trident hadn't gone right through his heart, but it probably just meant he would suffer longer.

Anger burned in Reyna's chest. She hated the Sirens. She hated Brizo. She hated this stupid vacation. She hated all of the useless Greeks. Reyna looked down and took a few deep breaths. If her anger got the best of her, she was going to make a terrible mistake.

“You have three seconds,” Brizo warned. Reyna looked at Hedge. He weakly shook his head. Reyna looked away from her friend. She didn't see Bacchus anywhere. Where had the Olympian gone, or had Brizo defeated him that easily?

Reyna stared at the ground. If she gave the box to Brizo, the goddess would have the heart of her Siren back and the box she needed to power her Sirens. If Reyna didn't give the box back, Hedge would die. Reyna's gaze stayed focus on the ground. She knew what her answer was, but it made her sick to her stomach.

“No,” Reyna said. She looked up at Brizo. “You can kill the Faun, but you are going to have to pry this box from my cold, dead hands.”

So, Reyna wasn't going to win the friend of the year award anytime soon, or ever really. Hedge was probably going to die because of her. At the end of the day, it was Hedge's life weighed against the entire camp. One Faun was not worth the life of that many campers. It was a decision that was going to keep her up for the next few months, but it was the right one. Those were always the hardest ones to make.

Reyna looked at Hedge. He didn't look betrayed or upset. Instead, he gave her a small nod of approval, which only made Reyna feel worse. She turned and tried to run. Her instincts yelled for her to turn almost immediately.

Reyna whirled around, and the trident slammed into the black box. As she hit the ground, the box opened, dropping the hunting knife but not the heart. That was because the heart had been skewered by the trident. Reyna looked at Hedge and saw that he had been thrown aside and discarded. He also wasn't moving to put pressure on his wound.

Brizo smirked and held out her hand. Her trident shot back towards her palm, along with the black box attached to it. Reyna gripped her sword and scrambled to her feet. Where in Bellona's name was Bacchus? Why wasn't anything going Reyna's way?

Brizo studied Reyna for a long moment. Her hand dislodged the box from her trident. Then, she started to glow. Reyna was forced to look away. She heard a cry of pain, and the glow disappeared. Reyna risked looking back and saw that Clarisse was standing over Brizo. Clarisse's spear was digging into the back of Brizo's neck.

Reyna scrambled to her feet and moved to Hedge's side. She quickly cut his shirt off and pressed it to his chest. Reyna spoke, “You're going to be okay. I promise.”

Someone pushed Reyna to the side. She started to raise her sword, but she saw Clarisse was holding the shirt to Hedge's wound. Clarisse looked at her and spoke, “Handle the Sirens. Now. If he dies, it's on you.”

“I know,” Reyna said, even though she knew that Clarisse could not hear her. She looked back at Brizo. The goddess seemed to be choking on her own blood, and Lamer the Third was sending visible shocks through her body every second. The goddess slowly pulled the spear from her neck and stood. Reyna swore up and down. “Brizo! That is enough!”

“Will kill you,” Brizo choked out. She held her hand out, and her trident flew back to her hand. She threw the trident with inhuman speed. Reyna barely dodged past it and stumbled. Brizo's shoulder slammed into her gut and then slammed her into the cabin wall.

Reyna yelled in pain but did not lose the grip on her sword. She stabbed it into Brizo's back, only for the goddess to throw her over her shoulder. Reyna hit the ground and choked on her yell of pain. Her sword had been torn from her grasp, leaving her defenseless. As Brizo brought the trident down, vines wrapped around it.

The vines pulled Brizo backwards, and she stumbled. Bacchus attacked Brizo with his sword. Reyna watched the two for a moment and then laid her head back. All of the pain and exhaustion hit her like a wave. She couldn't find the strength to stand, let alone help fight a goddess.

Reyna slowly moved her hand to her collarbone. If her bones weren't a thousand piece puzzle before, they was now. Her head ached in pain, and all she wanted to do was pass out. In fact, that sounded pretty nice. She would wake and deal with the consequences of choosing the stupid box over Hedge later.

“I have one!” Grover yelled. Reyna barely lifted her head and saw Grover running towards them. He was holding one of the hearts in his hand. Grover ran towards Reyna and knelt by her. “I heard what you told Hedge, and Juniper found the Siren that you dissected. Oh gods, what happened to Hedge?”

“Give me the heart,” Reyna hissed. She pulled herself into a half sitting position. Grover stared but slowly gave her the heart. Reyna took it and cradled it. “Help Hedge.”

Grover nodded and ran to Hedge's side. Reyna scooted backwards towards the box and placed the heart inside. She collapsed next to it and stared up at the sky. They needed one more heart to stop the singing. One more heart and Brizo's blood to end the nightmare.

Reyna's eyes started to drift close, but she forced herself to stay awake. She managed to roll on her side and stare at the ground. Blood hit the grass, and she slowly placed a hand to her face. Somewhere along the way, her lip had been gashed pretty badly.

A hand suddenly touched her shoulder. Reyna looked up, and she saw Nico standing over her. Wait. How was Nico not curled up into a small ball like the rest of the Greeks? Reyna spoke, “Nico?”

“I'm here,” Nico said, but he looked confused. His eyes shot around at all of the cabins. Reyna looked around and saw that some of the Greeks were stirring. She then realized her headache was gone. The singing had stopped, and since the last Siren was fleeing, she wouldn't be able to sing. “What is going on?”

“Long story,” Reyna wheezed. She slowly looked up and saw that Will was kneeling over Hedge and had both hands to his chest. “There's a Siren. You need to find her and take her heart. Bring it back to this box and pour the goddess' blood inside.”

Nico stared at her for a moment. Reyna slowly motioned to the body of the Siren that she had carved the heart out of. After a moment, Nico nodded. He spoke, “I'll find her. You need to rest.”

“I can help,” Reyna protested. Nico squeezed her hand gently and then took off running. Reyna sighed painfully. After a moment, she glanced to her right. Will was doing his best to take care of Hedge, but she couldn't see how it was going. A glance to her left showed that Bacchus was seemingly winning the fight against Brizo.

Reyna laid her head back, and her eyes closed. The pain that ran through her entire body slowly faded, and she was left feeling pretty relax. Something was wrong. Reyna's eyes snapped open, and she slowly sat up. Her gaze moved around.

At the moment, she was sitting in the middle of Camp Half-Blood. There was no altar, no half torn down cabins, no fighting, and no stupid Sirens. The Greeks were all going about their business like it was another normal day. Reyna heard the crackling of a fire, and she slowly turned her head.

“You really just sit around and do this all day?” a woman asked. She was sitting by a fire but tossing a coin in the air. The coin was shiny enough to catch the light with every spin, and Reyna was sure that she could see her reflection in it. There was a lopsided, carefree grin on the woman's face. Her bright blue eyes studied the fire. The woman ran her other hand through her black hair.

“Yes,” the other woman answered. She wore something that Reyna thought was a hood, but she slowly realized it was a scarf. The other woman looked down at her brown dress for a moment, and her brown eyes focused on Reyna. “How do you feel, demigod?”

“Where am I?” Reyna slowly asked. She looked at the small fire that they were sitting around. Her eyes moved around the camp. She froze as she saw herself and Nico walking past. There was a small smile on her face, as Nico was telling her a joke. “Is this some kind of weird flashback of my life before I die?”

“Not at all,” the first woman answered. She tossed her coin into the air but didn't catch it. The coin suddenly stopped in midair, near the woman's head. She seemed unconcerned about it. “This is where you mind wanted to go, after all.”

“What do you mean?” Reyna asked in confusion. She felt like she knew the woman with the coin. The other woman that was tending to the flames was a mystery. “Who are you two?”

“Me. I'm Tyche. Well, you call me Fortuna,” the woman with the coin answered. She pulled another coin out of thin air. This one was damaged badly on both sides. She tossed it into the air next to the shiny one and flicked both of them. Both coins spun in mid air. “The quiet one over there is Hestia, or Vesta for your Roman brain.

“What do you mean when you said that this is where I wanted to go?” Reyna asked. She looked down. “I should be awake and helping the Greeks hunt down the last Siren.”

“You have done your part,” Vesta said. “The Greeks will handle the rest of it.”

The rest of it was a tall order. Nico still had to find the remaining Siren, subdue her without her singing again, bring the heart back to the box, and then somehow get Brizo's blood in the box. It was an impossible task by himself, and Reyna wasn't sure how quickly the Greeks would snap out of the spell.

“It doesn't feel like enough,” Reyna admitted. She laid back on the ground and stared up at the sky. “Why am I here though? What pulled me into this dream?”

“You did. Well, I did,” Fortuna said. She flicked her shiny coin into the fire and watched it burn for a few moments. Then, she snatched the shiny coin out of the fire and examined it The coin looked unharmed. Fortuna sighed and spun the two coins in the air again. “Vesta is always here, and she's at your camp as well. Always watching the hearth and protecting home. That fun stuff. I came here because you have my coin.”

“Your coin?” Reyna asked in confusion. Fortuna nodded and pointed towards Reyna's pocket. After a moment, Reyna reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin. It was the same size as the two coins that Fortuna held. The only difference was that Reyna's coin was incredibly shiny on one side and damaged beyond repair on the other.

“Tyche is always losing her coins,” Vesta explained. Fortuna just shrugged. “As she passes through places, she will leave a coin behind, as she did with the coin that you found in your pocket.”

“How did it end up in my pocket?” Reyna slowly asked. She looked around once again. How was things going back in reality? Was Hedge safe? Did Nico find the last Siren? Was Rachel still bleeding out?

“That's the funny story,” Fortuna answered. “See, I came here to ask Chiron for a quest. That little coin you're holding onto was stolen from me, and it was not lost, Vesta. It was stolen, by the same pirate that stole Brizo's black box.”

“That coin is special. These two are different,” Fortuna continued, and she held the two coins up, as if to show them off. “The one on my left is good luck, and the one on the right is bad luck. Nemesis always complains that I am giving my good luck coin to every demigod that I come across, but I really just put my coin down and will come back for it later. A demigod always find it first though.”

“Tyche, you're getting off track,” Vesta interrupted. Her gaze was on the fire that she tended to, but Reyna was sure that Vesta gave her a small grin.

“Right. Anyway, the coin in your hand holds both good and bad luck in it. If I give it to a demigod, they flip it and receive whatever they land on. This coin was given to me by my parents, and it has helped my favorite demigods,” Fortuna continued. “It's also the coin that I would flip to decide the luck of your camp during my feast.”

“What coin do you use now?” Reyna slowly asked.

“Whichever of these I find first,” Fortuna answered, and she held her two coins up again. Reyna looked down. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about the fate of her camp being decided by a coin flip from a forgetful goddess, but it did explain a lot.

“You're rambling again,” Vesta muttered. She poked at the fire once again but definitely had a grin on her face.

“Yeah. Yeah. I told you that the same pirate that stole my coin also stole Brizo's box. His little ship of treasures sank, and it wasn't found for a long time. I spent forever trying to track it down, and do you know how unhelpful mortals are?” Fortuna asked. She shook her head. “It's ridiculous. But, I heard about this queen of the Amazons who worked with a famous pirate, so I payed her a visit and learned about their exploits.”

“I found the ship, but I could not retrieve the coin myself. I tried to hire mortals, but none of them could find the ship. That's when I went to this camp to find Chiron,” Fortuna continued. “I tasked Chiron with finding my coin. I may have forgotten to use the word coin in my explanation though. But, we are lucky enough that my coin was stuck to the bottom of Brizo's box!”

“Lucky,” Reyna repeated. Despite the fact that there was no singing, she could feel her head starting to ache. Hearing why the entire situation happened only served to piss her off more. Hedge was dying because a stupid goddess couldn't keep track of her coin. If Clarisse hadn't been sent on the quest, Reyna knew the black box would not have been found by Camp Half-Blood, and none of this would have happened. She swallowed back her anger. “How did the coin end up in my pocket?”

“That daughter of Ares thought that the black box was the objective of her quest,” Fortuna answered. She sighed sadly. “I could see it all from my coin. They went to the armory to put away their spare weapons and armor. When they were in there, the other child of Ares played keep away with the box, and my coin was dislodged and fell into, what do mortals call it?”

Vesta frowned and started to think. After a moment, she looked at Reyna and made a gun motion with her fingers. If Reyna wasn't so upset, the sheer ridiculous of it would have made her smile. Reyna spoke, “A gun?”

“Yes. A gun, but the smaller thing that goes inside it,” Fortuna said. She made an odd motion with a half clenched fist pushing inside of Vesta's finger gun.

“A magazine?” Reyna slowly asked.

“Yes! That's what they call it. You checked one of them for whatever reason and then threw the rest in your bag. One of the magazines that you threw in there but didn't check was only half full, and my coin had slipped inside it. The coin fell from the magazine and into your bag. Since the bag belonged to you, it jumped into your pocket as soon as you put the bag down. Thank you for returning it. I believe I owe you a boon,” Fortuna said.

“What about saving my friend that your mistake almost killed,” Reyna snapped. She immediately regretted the words and looked down. Well, it was a nice run. She was either going to become a nice pile of ash courtesy of a good old smiting, or she was going to be crushed under a pile of coins.

When no words were said, Reyna slowly looked up. Fortuna was staring down at her coins, and there was a hurt look on her face. That was not what Reyna expected, but considering she was still alive, she needed to act quickly. Reyna spoke, “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me.”

Fortuna remained silent. Reyna slowly looked at Vesta, but the goddess was just messing with the fire. Fortuna finally spoke, “You are dreaming of me because I needed to talk to you. But, why are you thinking of Hestia: goddess of the hearth. Of home?”

“This is a second home,” Reyna muttered. When she had said it during the feast after defeating Gaea, she really only said it because that was what a good leader would say. Reyna had meant it, but the words were really for Nico to know that he had two places where he could go that he would be welcome for who he was. Reyna didn't realize she would actually come to think of Camp Half-Blood as another home.

Reyna had spent her whole life trying to find a home. Now, she had two of them, and she would fight to the death to protect both of them. Reyna spoke, “Is Hedge going to live?”

“That is for you to decide,” Fortuna said. She motioned to the double sided coin in Reyna's hand. “Flip it.”

Reyna slowly looked down at the coin in her head. She examined the shiny side that represented good luck and the damaged sign that represented bad luck. A sad sigh left her. This was punishment for her verbally lashing out. She was holding Hedge's fate in her hands again, and his life was going to be decided by an actual coin flip. This was some kind of cruel lesson from Fortuna.

Reyna closed her eyes and reluctantly flipped the coin in the air. She opened her eyes and watched the coin through the air. A frown came to her face as the sun shined on both side of the shiny coin. Reyna held her hand out to catch the double sided coin of good luck.

“It seems like luck is on your side today,” Fortuna commented. Reyna slowly looked at the goddess. Fortuna was examining her two other coins: the badly damaged one and the one that had a shiny side and damaged side. “May I have my coin back?”

“Thank you,” Reyna began. She studied the double sided coin of good luck again and tossed it towards Fortuna. The goddess caught it and stood.

“You were the one who made the toss, praetor,” Fortuna said. She looked at Reyna, and that lopsided grin came back to her face. Then, she looked at Vesta. “Let's get out of this camp and go somewhere fun. You like fire, right? I know where a good forest fire or two is.”

Vesta sighed and slowly stood. She looked at Reyna and spoke, “Get some sleep, praetor. You have earned it. When you wake, please make sure they put my cabin back to how it was and please have someone clean it.”

“I will,” Reyna promised. She watched Vesta disappear from sight. Reyna slowly laid back on the ground and sighed tiredly. She closed her eyes, and the rest of her sleep passed peacefully.


	21. Day Seven: The Beauty of It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the final chapter. Thank you for all of the support. I hope everyone enjoyed, and I hope it also proved to be a good distraction during theses crazy times.

Reyna was a little suspicious when she woke up in a bed. Part of her expected to be strapped to the bed with Brizo standing over her, taunting her and talking in circles. Instead, she was alone, other than the loud snoring on her right. Reyna turned her head and stared at Hedge. A sigh of relief left her.

Hedge was asleep and had a bandage wrapped around his chest. His face was pale, but considering his snoring practically shook the room, he was going to be fine. Reyna slowly lifted her head and didn't find anyone else in the room. She laid her head back against the bed.

It took a moment for Reyna to examine herself. Her arm was in a sling, and it felt a lot more immobile than before, which she hoped was a good thing. Reyna looked at her leg, which had a bandage wrapped around it. There was an odd feeling on her lips and she slowly touched a few stitches. Her last spot to check was her ribs, and other than a crack of two, she was fine.

Reyna knew how lucky she was to have avoided more injuries. It seemed like she had been lucky ever since leaving the armory. Lucky that Percy didn't stab her further up her leg. Lucky that Piper found her with the Sirens. Lucky that she managed to free herself from Brizo's spell. Hopefully, she hadn't used up all of her good luck.

There was a spare change of clothes next to the bed, along with Reyna's duffel bag and her sword. Reyna slowly laid her head back against the pillow. She took a few deep breaths. Then, she sat up and slowly swung her legs off of the bed. Before she could finish standing, the door opened.

Reyna looked up and met Nico's eyes. He crossed his arms and stared at her, like he was trying to scold her. Reyna rolled her eyes and spoke, “Help me get up.”

“Will already threatened to yell at me if I helped you escape,” Nico said. Reyna sighed dramatically but didn't fight. She laid back on the bed. Her eyes closed, but she heard Nico sit next to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Nothing really hurts at the moment,” Reyna replied. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Nico. “Was that all a really weird dream?”

“No,” Nico said. He sighed tiredly and leaned back in his chair. “They destroyed my cabin, Reyna! All of the cool skulls that I found and torches that I hung up are gone.”

“You just kept those to bother Will,” Reyna muttered. Nico flicked her arm. Reyna grinned. “Is Hedge doing okay? He's going to make a full recovery, right?”

“He'll be fine. We were lucky enough that Will's healing magic worked a little deeper than it normally does,” Nico answered. Reyna sighed in relief. She didn't know what she would do without the Faun to bother her and tell her about all kinds of annoying things.

“Is Clarisse still mad at me?” Reyna asked. She remembered the look in Clarisse's eyes when she had told Reyna that it would be her fault if Hedge died. The words were true, and it was a responsibility that she had been willing to carry.

“Clarisse was upset that you destroyed her eardrums, but the Apollo kids have her ears mostly healed. She'll be fine,” Nico answered. “Personally, I thought it was pretty funny.”

Reyna grinned and glanced at her watch. It was Sunday now: the last day of her vacation. What a terrible vacation it was but not for the reasons that Reyna thought it would be. She fully expected to hate being trapped at Camp Half-Blood for so long, but the first few days had been enjoyable. It just all went downhill when the crazy goddess tried to murder her and all of Greeks.

“What about Rachel? She had a pretty bad gash on her arm,” Reyna said. Her eyes studied the ceiling. Laying in this bed was going to get very old very quickly, and she was starving. She couldn't remember the last time she had food.

“I know Dionysus tended to her arm while he was fighting the crazy goddess. Brioche?” Nico asked. A pained laugh escaped Reyna. Nico flicked her arm again. Reyna smiled at him. She figured that Bacchus tending to Rachel was probably how Brizo was able to appear near Reyna and almost kill Hedge.

“Dionysus subdued the crazy goddess, and we all organized to find the last Siren. A couple of the Dryads and Nymphs were all beating her with sticks and yelling something about threats. We brought her back here and carved her heart out. Clarisse was more than happy to do that,” Nico continued. “After that, we took care of our injured, talked about what happened, and have been trying to put the camp back together.”

“You guys really destroyed it,” Reyna commented. She sighed once again and closed her eyes. “Did Bacchus take Brizo away?”

“He did,” Nico confirmed. “Chiron is going to take the box to Hecate and see if she can free the Sirens from whatever magic keeps them trapped to the hearts. How did you even know how to destroy them?”

“Brizo told me about how her Sirens were created, and Chiron told me that her blood created and destroyed. It just clicked,” Reyna answered. She looked down at her hands. It looked like someone had tried to clean the blood from her hands, but she could still see traces of it. Just the thought of it made Reyna's gut twist. “I didn't want to do that, but I did what I had to do.”

“No one judges you,” Nico promised. Reyna nodded, and they both heard a knock on the door. Nico looked at Reyna, and she nodded. “Come in. She's awake.”

Percy and Annabeth stepped into the room. Annabeth was holding onto a plate of food, which instantly made her Reyna's best friend. Percy was holding onto a mug of hot chocolate, which put him in front of Nico on her friends list. Annabeth spoke, “Hey, Reyna. Glad to see you're awake.”

“I'm glad to see you two aren't trying to worship a water goddess anymore. Honestly Percy, you're father would be upset,” Reyna teased. Percy grinned and handed her the mug of hot chocolate. Reyna, with the unwanted help of Nico, made it into a sitting position.

Percy and Annabeth sat by her, and Annabeth placed the plate of food on the bedside table. Reyna slowly grabbed it and spoke, “Are there any after effects? Are you guys doing okay?”

“We're fine,” Annabeth promised. “Just worried about you.”

“I'm fine, other than being thrown out of the Big House,” Reyna said with a half shrug. Percy and Annabeth both stared at her in shock. “I'll have to apologize Chiron for breaking his window. Speaking of Chiron, is he awake?”

“A child of Morpheus woke him. We think he's okay, but he looked like he had a pretty bad nightmare,” Percy answered. Reyna looked down. She remembered the dream that Chiron had been stuck in, and it still bothered her. Having to relive a moment like that over and over again was scarring, but Chiron was immortal. He would have many more of those moments.

Reyna focused on eating her food. The other three demigods talked among themselves and left her alone long enough for her to finish eating. When she was done, she cradled the mug of hot chocolate like the gods themselves had given it to her.

“They're planning a feast tonight,” Annabeth said. She seemed to be examining Reyna. “It's to celebrate the people who helped saved us and to also get a good meal before we spend the entire night rebuilding our camp. Will said we can let you out of the bed for that long, if you think you can make it.”

“I'll be there, just please don't force me to sing at a campfire,” Reyna said. Percy and Annabeth grinned at her. Reyna looked down. Things had worked out, but there was still one thing she needed to do. “I know that I'm not suppose to be out of bed until the feast, but I really need to send a message to Frank.”

“We can let Frank know for you,” Percy said. Reyna shook her head.

“I need to talk to him about something personal,” Reyna began. Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks, but they both stood. Nico squeezed Reyna's hand gently. “I promise to also lay back in bed, after I shower.”

“I guess that's fair,” Percy said. He grinned at Reyna. “We'll be back in a hour to make sure you're actually in bed and not trying to sneak out.”

“Get out,” Reyna said. Percy grinned and left. Annabeth made it to the door, but she stopped and turned back towards Reyna.

“If you need help with your shower,” Annabeth began. Reyna nodded slightly. As if to spare her from any embarrassment, Annabeth looked at Nico. “Don't let her wander anywhere else, or I will get Will to come after you.”

Nico held his hands up. Annabeth watched him for a few moments. She finally nodded to Reyna and walked away. Reyna spoke, “You better listen, Nico. We don't want to have Will come storming in here.”

“Shut up,” Nico muttered, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face. He helped Reyna stand. As they started to walk away, Reyna glanced back at Hedge. The Faun had given her an approving nod, but did she actually believe that he approved of her letting him die? No.

“Did he wake at all?” Reyna asked quietly. Nico shook his head. “I guess he hates me for choosing the box over him.”

“I'm sure he knows that you didn't mean it. That was all just a part of your plan,” Nico said. Reyna slowly looked at him. He smiled slightly, but his eyes told the truth. He knew that Reyna completely stood by her decision, but no one else had to know that.

“Thank you,” Reyna said. Nico nodded and started to help her walk. When they made it to the door, he pulled away but stayed close enough to help her. Reyna hobbled towards the room that held a fountain in it, but she didn't take up Nico's offer for help.

As they made it into the room, Reyna slowly sat on the table. She winced, but if Nico was going to lecture her, he seemed to think better of it. Nico grabbed a coin and threw it towards the fountain. Then, he tapped Reyna's arm and left the room.

“Oh Arcus, sorry Iris, goddess of rainbows, show me Frank Zhang at Camp Jupiter,” Reyna said. She watched the mist form to show Frank. He was sitting at his desk and had half of a jelly bean sticking out of his mouth. He looked rather confused and seemed to be staring down at a paper. “Hey Frank.”

Frank quickly closed his mouth and looked up. The confusion on his face quickly turned to concern. Frank spoke, “Reyna? What happened?”

“It's a long story,” Reyna admitted. She studied Frank. He looked more stressed out than normal, and Reyna just knew that he was eating her spare bag of jelly beans. She would forgive him, this time. “First, I want to apologize to you.”

“I should apologize,” Frank began. He looked down. Reyna bit back a sigh and played with her sling. That was going to get annoying pretty soon as well. Frank opened his mouth to say more.

“No,” Reyna interrupted. She met Frank's eyes. “Everything that you said is correct. I shouldn't have treated you like I did. I shouldn't have talked bad about you to my dogs. Frank, I would never talk about you like that to a fellow Roman. That I swear upon my honor.”

“I promise to teach you to be the best praetor that you can be,” Reyna continued. She looked down. “I am so sorry that I said those things to you, and I wish I could take it all back. The only thing I can do is try to make it up to you.”

“I don't think I've heard you apologize before,” Frank said. Reyna glanced up at him and saw that he had a small smile on his face. “I talked to Hazel about it after you left. She told me to see it from your point of view. I understand how it is frustrating for someone to seemingly stumble into a job, and you have to pick up their slack.”

“Piper told me to see it from your point of view. You had the job thrust upon you and was doing the best that you could,” Reyna said. “Think they exchanged notes?”

Frank nodded. Reyna looked down again and spoke, “You really don't have to apologize for what you said. I needed to hear it. Please just accept my apology.”

“I accept it,” Frank said. Reyna nodded and felt herself relax. She would just have to be patient and calm with Frank, but she could manage that. Reyna looked at Frank. The two of them would figure it out together, but that would be for another day. Concern came to Frank's face. “Did sparring go wrong? Or was it their War Games?”

“It's a long story. You might want to sit back and relax,” Reyna said. Frank nodded, and he leaned back in his seat. Reyna told Frank the story of how she woke to a possessed Camp Half-Blood and how she fought to try and save them.

Frank remained silent throughout the entire story, but the look of concern in his eyes became clearer and clearer as she spoke. Reyna almost wanted to smile. Even if she had almost died, he didn't have to be concerned about her. When Reyna finished her story, Frank nodded.

“We should tell the Senate, so they don't think that the Greeks decided to play pinata with me,” Reyna said. She sighed. “The Senate won't count this last week as a vacation, will they?”

“They won't,” Frank said. He looked guilty and rubbed his face. “This is all my fault.”

“Oh no. It's the fault of the forgetful goddess,” Reyna said. She shifted and winced in pain. “Why would you blame yourself?”

“If I didn't suggest this vacation, you wouldn't have gone to Camp Half-Blood. None of this would have happened,” Frank said. Reyna almost forgot that the whole vacation was Frank's idea. They would definitely be discussing that later.

“Oh, it would have happened, but I wouldn't have been here to save the Greeks,” Reyna said. She smiled slightly. “The goddess would have come to Camp Half-Blood either way, and she probably would have taken this entire place over without me there to stop her.”

“I can suggest to the Senate that we have you take another week long vacation back at Camp Jupiter,” Frank said. Reyna studied him for a few moments and looked down. She really didn't want to be forced to take another vacation, but there was clearly no choice. What if it was a good thing though?

“I won't fight taking another week off, but I don't want to be forced to stay somewhere,” Reyna began. Frank nodded. Reyna played with her sling. “Do you think I could stay at Camp Half-Blood for most of the week. Then, I want to pay a visit to my sister.”

“Of course,” Frank said. He seemed surprised that she wasn't threatening to murder him for suggesting it. After all that had happened that week, Reyna realized she really did need a vacation. Murdering a few Sirens was a great way to start it, but it would also be nice to actually spend time with her friends and maybe her sister.

“How did the evaluation go?” Reyna asked. Frank looked down and frowned. He finally shrugged. “Was everything fine until Lupa came? Then, everything that you did caused her to either growl lowly or curl her lip. It seems like even breathing annoys her.”

“That's exactly what happened,” Frank said. A smile came to Reyna's face. She could see how concerned Frank was about his evaluation, and it was almost funny. “I failed, didn't I?”

“Not at all,” Reyna answered. A small laugh escaped her. “Lupa did the same thing to me. You only have to be worried if she is completely silent. The more annoyed that she seems at your presence means you're doing a good job.”

“That's good. I think,” Frank said. He closed his eyes. “I also ate your emergency jellybeans. I'm sorry.”

“There's more taped underneath my desk. You can have those if you need to stress eat,” Reyna said. A smile came to Frank's face. “I'm sure you did fine. Now, I should probably go take a shower and relax before dinner.”

“Get some rest,” Frank said. A smile came to Reyna's face, and Frank smiled as well. He ran his hand through the Iris message ending it. Reyna laid back on the table and sighed painfully.

The week obviously hadn't gone how she wanted it to, but she was glad it happened the way it did, other than the whole being injured and almost dying part. It showed that Camp Half-Blood was like another home to Reyna, and it reminded her of how much she loved Camp Jupiter as well. She also learned that she really did need some sort of vacation

Reyna would have the rest of the week to relax and be with her friends. With a little bit of luck, she would be cleared to compete in capture the flag. If not, she could hopefully have a front row seat to the destruction. Reyna closed her eyes.

“Hey Reyna,” Piper said. Reyna opened one eye and looked at her. The daughter of Venus grinned at her. “How are you feeling?”

“I've been better,” Reyna answered. “I may have made a mistake laying down.”

Piper helped her sit back up. She spoke, “I'll help you walk. Then, I can show your face off to everyone. No one believes me when I told them that I beat up you and Percy with a makeup case. Isn't that the second time this week a daughter of Aphrodite has beaten you in combat?

“Shut up McLean,” Reyna muttered. Piper laughed and helped her stand. “I should get my change of clothes before going to the showers. I think I can walk on my own though.”

“I'll be within earshot,” Piper said. Reyna nodded and started to walk back to the infirmary. She kept her eyes focused on the ground. Her walk was more of a limp, but most of the pain in her leg was dulled. She was grateful for that, considering everyone would worry for her more if she was visibly hurting.

Reyna stepped into the infirmary and walked towards her change of clothes. She picked them up and heard a noise. Reyna turned her head and looked at Hedge. The Faun was awake and looking around. He looked at Reyna, and a grin came to his face. Hedge spoke, “You running out already, Roman?”

“Just a shower,” Reyna said softly. She studied Hedge. The grin on his face was a pained one, but he looked happy. He didn't seem to be upset at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good,” Hedge answered. He tried to sit up and paled. “No. Not good. I think I'm going to lay here.”

“You should just lay there and try to relax. I can ask Piper to get you some food,” Reyna offered. It was hard to meet Hedge's eyes, and guilt was starting to fill her chest. She took a second to ignore it. Reyna had gotten good at that.

“Something bloody and rare. Make Grover bring it. His reactions are the best,” Hedge said. He grinned. Reyna smiled slightly but turned around. She walked towards the door. “I don't blame you, Roman. It was the right choice.”

“I am sorry,” Reyna said. She turned back towards Hedge. The Faun just shrugged. Hedge didn't seem like he cared, and Reyna realized that he didn't. Hedge would have loved to go out protecting all of the campers. “I'll have someone make you a steak, but we'll cover it to make sure that Grover doesn't know what he's presenting.”

“Come see me before you leave as well,” Hedge said. Reyna smiled slightly. “I have to say goodbye to my favorite Roman.”

“I'll be here for another week, if you guys will have me,” Reyna said. Hedge's grin told her he would be more than happy to. Reyna turned and left the infirmary. It was hard to get rid of the small smile on her face. She was actually looking forward to the rest of her vacation, hanging out with her second family.

Reyna stopped walking and looked around Camp Half-Blood. Sure, it was a destroyed mess, but it was also beautiful. It wasn't as beautiful as Camp Jupiter, but who could compete with the Romans? Reyna closed her eyes and relaxed. She would take a shower, enjoy the feast, and then enjoy the rest of the week, hopefully without another crazy immortal trying to murder everyone.


End file.
